Steelers OC Matt Canada shrugs off criticism

Much maligned Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada essentially pointed to the scoreboard while addressing criticisms lobbed his way throughout what's been an up-and-down season for the club.

"I work for the greatest organization in sports, and all we care about in Pittsburgh is winning," Canada said during a recent edition of the "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" program, per Ryan Morik of Fox News Digital. "We find ways to win, and our guys are doing that." 

Pittsburgh fans have clamored for the Steelers to "fire Canada" even as the club has won four of five games to get to 6-3 ahead of coming Sunday's massive divisional matchup at the 6-3 Cleveland Browns. According to ESPN stats, the Steelers enter the weekend ranked 28th in the NFL with an average of 283.6 yards per game and 26th with an average of 17.3 points per contest. 

While second-year Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett has impressed with his fourth-quarter performances this season, he hasn't consistently shown signs he'll evolve into a top-tier player at the position under Canada. ESPN stats show Pickett is ranked 28th with a 36.3 adjusted QBR, 25th with an 81.1 passer rating and 30th with a 61.3% completion percentage on the campaign. Across Pittsburgh's first nine games, the 25-year-old threw only six touchdown passes to go along with four interceptions. 

"We certainly want to play better every week, we want to score more points every week, we're going to do all those things every week," Canada continued. "There's always things we can do better… but bottom line is winning, and we're fortunate to be in a situation where the [team owner] Rooney family cares about winning, [head coach] Mike Tomlin cares about winning, and that's what our players care about, so that's all I'm worried about."

The Steelers reportedly could extend Canada's stay with the organization beyond this season if Pickett "figures it out a little bit." As of Friday afternoon, oddschecker listed the Steelers as one-point underdogs for Sunday's game against the Browns. 

Perhaps Pittsburgh completing a season sweep of Cleveland would make Canada a bit more popular among Steelers fans before Thanksgiving arrives.