Mike McCarthy’s Playcalling Is Unsustainable for Steelers

Mistakes and Decisions Sank Pittsburgh Early

The Steelers offense was a complete disaster in the first half.  The first drive made no attempt to establish the run. Rodgers threw the ball away on first down, and then threw it away again on third down after Jaylen Warren gained two yards on a second-and-10 run. Pittsburgh punted from Tampa’s 44-yard line after the defense made a statement stop to start the game.

More errors ensued: Aaron Rodgers‘ pass to a TE screen was tipped for a pick, Bernard blew a fourth-down conversion on a rookie mistake, Chris Boswell missed a 48-yard field goal, a penalty cleared Kaden Wetjen‘s best return yet, and Rodgers got sacked multiple times. The Steelers could not get out of their own way as the Buccaneers drove down the field and scored 13 points unanswered points.

More inexplicably, Warren barely touched the ball in the first half. Rico Dowdle had 6 touches to Warren’s 5, and Warren ultimately finished the game with 16 touches. While Warren still outsnapped Dowdle 59 to 21, the fact that their actual touches were closer than they should be is ridiculous.

McCarthy even admitted early in his press conference that they “could’ve used some more attempts at the plate” (at the 56-second mark). Keep in mind that the team had three receivers (Pittman, Wilson, Skworonek) out for this game, and yet they still ran the ball only 21 times.

Rodgers is not the most mobile quarterback in the league, especially at his age. He clearly favors quick passes to get the ball out of his hands and avoid hits. Screens and outs will not get you far if the defense is not threatened by anything else.

A Massive Red Zone Failure

In typical Steelers fashion, the offense woke up right around the fourth quarter. Rodgers hit Metcalf, Warren and Bernard got big gains in key moments and racked up 16 points. The defense also held the Bucs to 6 points in the second half, setting up the offense for what should have been a game-sealing red-zone trip after a great catch-and-run by former Buccaneer Jamel Dean.

How did the offense respond after such a massive play? Three plays for two yards; two of those plays were incomplete passes, and they only needed three yards to score. Boswell hit a chip-shot field goal, but that drive only took up 17 seconds. Tampa Bay would eventually drive down the field and kick a field goal of their own, sending the game into overtime.

McCarthy spoke about the moment in the press conference, stating that they tried to catch the Bucs’ defense with 10 men on the field on the second-down run. McCarthy stated they were “aware of the clock” in that moment. Yet, the playcalling felt more like the offense was in a hurry to score, rather than in a position to take the lead and force Tampa Bay to burn timeouts.

This circles back to the odd aversion to calling running plays with Warren. After such a monstrous game against the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh returned to its pass-heavy approach. Yes, they fell behind early, which will warrant more pass plays, but they fell in that hole because the offense did not lean into Warren’s legs early. That aversion in the red zone could have cost them the game.

Better Teams Await in November

The formula that McCarthy wants the Steelers running will not work against the higher-end competition that awaits the team after their Week 9 bye. Rodgers had to drop back 54 times, while also getting sacked five times by Tampa’s stout defensive front. Given the team’s thinness at receiver and their strength behind Warren and their tight ends, this shouldn’t happen.

The worst part is that Rodgers has not looked very good against strong defenses. Rodgers has only scored two total touchdowns against defenses in the top half of yards allowed: The Bucs (10th) and the New England Patriots (11th), who completely shut out Rodgers.

After the bye, the Steelers face two premier defenses in points allowed: The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos. Both squads are among the best at creating turnovers, with the Broncos also having 18 sacks so far this year. Despite their 2-4 record, the Houston Texans have decimated Pittsburgh as of late. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals can never be discounted, either.

McCarthy probably knows what the team is good at: running the ball with Warren and building the passing game off of that. His frequent timidity at calling shots downfield early in games already caught up to the team against the Cleveland Browns, and it almost got them in Tampa.

Most teams down the stretch will not be so forgiving of his playstyle. McCarthy needs to tighten up before it is too late.