The arrow is pointing down for the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense ahead of the 2024 season after the unit has been downright awful over two preseason games.
In preseason Week 2, neither Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields was able to get the Steelers into the end zone, and Pittsburgh only mustered up three points. It wasn't solely their faults, though, as the offensive line was not good at all.
Legendary head coach Bill Belichick was a guest on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday and gave his two cents on the Steelers' situation on offense.
Belichick is high on offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who he thinks is the right man for the job. He believes Wilson will not be the issue if the offense struggles in 2024, and he also thinks head coach Mike Tomlin will go with the signal-caller who takes care of the football best, which he believes is Wilson.
As far as what the Steelers need to do better is concerned, he thinks improvement from the offensive line and run game are paramount. He also says Pittsburgh could use another wide receiver.
“I think they have bigger problems than at the quarterback position. The defense is, you know, a pretty solid unit," Belichick said. "The offensive line had a hard time being consistent there. They lost the tackles. They have a rookie center, and the guards, they've had some issues too in the preseason games. They need to get the running game going, they have good backs, they need to get those back started. Russell's good out of the pocket. But I think the problems are bigger than Russell Wilson. I think it's really offensive line and the running game.”
No lies detected.
Smith has a proven track record of taking a down-and-out quarterback and reviving their career, something both Wilson and Fields are looking to do.
And, he's the right guy to get the rushing attack going, another thing we saw him do in Tennessee, where he utilized play action with a ton of success. Of course, the Steelers won't be able to do anything if the offensive line plays as poorly as it did in preseason Week 2, so it goes without saying things need to get better upfront.
The Steelers have been trying hard to land San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk in a trade, and he would no doubt solve their problem at the position. However, Pittsburgh would be wise to make a move if that falls through.