Following a two-game losing streak that has now extended to three, OC Arthur Smith and DC Teryl Austin have a lot of work to do to turn things around. As seen in Tuesday night’s video episode before the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss, Hard Knocks captured each message sent to the units they coordinate.
For Smith, the reason Pittsburgh’s offense faltered was because costly turnovers were so important.
“We’ve got a few things to add here from the last few games,” Smith said of the offensive group. “It’s really, really simple. I think one of the reasons we won 10 games was because we played good football. This has been happening every year across the league for the past few weeks. But these balls are coming out in so many different ways and that’s always going to determine these big plays, turnover margins.”
Against the Philadelphia Eagles, RB Najee Harris’ simple mistake on the toss play proved costly. The Eagles controlled the game the rest of the way, holding Pittsburgh’s offense to just two possessions in the second half. Philadelphia closed the game with a 21-play drive that ate into the final 10:29.
Against the Baltimore Ravens, QB Russell Wilson fumbled near the goal line, changing the dynamic of the game. Tied for seventh, Pittsburgh was poised to take the lead. Instead, Baltimore marched 96 yards to the end zone, took a 14-7 lead, and ultimately won 34-17.
We make a good team when we go on the road. If we really want to win a Super Bowl, we have to do that,” Smith said. “And you have to win in a hostile environment and play good teams. Well, if you turn the ball over, life is going to get really hard.”
Defensively, the Steelers don’t give the ball away. What’s worse is that you suffer yourself by losing communication and missing assignments.
“It’s not what they do, it’s what we don’t do,” Austin said during the defense conference. “We don’t communicate with ourselves. We’re not getting to the right spots and finishing plays the way we should. And it’s up to us. That is our own goal.”
To use football terms, the Steelers struggled to pass routes, adapt to motion, convert releases, and win in the red zone. They also missed turnovers when they failed to recover fumble punt returns against Philadelphia and Kansas City, a strip/sack against Baltimore and a tipped pass/interception dropped by LB Patrick Quinn on Christmas Day.
“If you just do it right, you don’t have to do too much.” Austin said. “You just have to take care of your business. Deal with what needs to be done.”
Through Pittsburgh’s first 13 games, they have a turnover differential of +17. That tied the NFL record. He was minus-2 during the losing streak. It’s the exact opposite of how the Steelers win and the difference is night and day. To stop the slide, they need to get back to the driving force that made them successful for most of the season.
For a full recap of Hard Knocks, check out our episode review here.
