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Despite 10-0 start, Steelers not satisfied with number of points offense is producing

Joe Rutter
| Tuesday, November 24, 2020 5:01 p.m.
Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Steelers tight end Eric Ebron picks up a first down over the Bengals’ Jessie Bates III during the third quarter Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at Heinz Field.

When it comes to scoring points, few NFL teams have been as consistent as the Pittsburgh Steelers this season.

The Steelers have established a franchise record by scoring at least 24 points in every game while building a 10-0 record that represents the best start in franchise history.

Only the New Orleans Saints can lay claim to scoring at least 24 points in each game this year. Such consistency has allowed the Steelers to rank fourth in the NFL and second in the AFC to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in points per game.

Not bad considering the way the Steelers struggled to find the end zone last year without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the final 14 games.

Still, they are no more satisfied than a golfer who comes up inches short of making a hole-in-one.

“We want to be an offense that when we touch the ball, we can score at any point and time,” tight end Eric Ebron said Tuesday. “There are offenses out there that can do such. If we want to ultimately fulfill our purpose, we must do that. I’m not saying our offense is bad. We’re not doing bad statistically. We just want to do better.”

Despite rolling to relatively easy 36-10 and 27-3 victories against Cincinnati and Jacksonville, respectively, in the past two weeks, 12 drives over those games ended with punter Jordan Berry on the field.

That’s too much, Roethlisberger lamented Sunday after the offense produced points on just five of 13 possessions against the 1-9 Jaguars.

“We have to put more points on the board,” Roethlisberger said. “I know the scoreboard says what it does, but there are too many times we punted today and we didn’t do enough.”

Roethlisberger clarified his stance Tuesday.

“It’s not about other teams or rankings,” he said. “We don’t care about rankings or how many points per game or percentages on third down. We just want to be the best we can be. When I made that comment after the game, it felt like we just left stuff out there not because we didn’t hit the 30-point mark or we didn’t do X, Y and Z. It just felt like we could have done more.”

The Steelers average 347.8 yards per game, which ranks in the bottom half of the NFL at No. 21. But the Steelers are among the league’s top-scoring teams because they have converted nearly 70% of their trips inside the red zone into touchdowns.

Yet, the Steelers believe the offense hasn’t done enough to keep the team’s record perfect.

“I think what gets disappointing for the guys is as you go back and study and watch the tape, you realize that just one mistake in the group offense by one person sets the whole group back,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. “Playing penalty-free, doing the things that require no talent — lining up properly, running the right route, executing the right technique and fundamentals of a run scheme, those types of things (matter).”

Former coordinator Todd Haley once set a goal of 30 points a game that he believed was attainable for the Steelers offense. The Steelers never have averaged that number under Haley or Fichtner despite spending six of the past seven years ranked in the top 10 in scoring. They topped out at 27.3 points per game in 2014.

A year after being the only NFL team not to score 30 points in a game — they averaged 18.1 — the Steelers have exceeded that plateau three times this season. With Roethlisberger back from right elbow surgery and the addition of Ebron and rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool, the Steelers are averaging 29.8 points through 11 weeks. The 9-1 Chiefs are first in the NFL with 32.1 points per game.

“I can see where the benchmark you always talk about is maybe 30 and above,” Fichtner said. “I don’t know the number, but I know the higher that number goes, the better chance we have to win. That’s all I really care to know.”

The Chiefs are the NFL standard bearer because of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who led two touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter to erase a pair of three-point deficits in a 35-31 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.

Under Mahomes, the Chiefs have a quick-strike mentality and move down the field with rapid-fire efficiency. The Steelers take a more methodical approach by controlling the clock and using short passes to get first downs. While the Steelers rank fourth in the NFL in time of possession, the Chiefs are No. 16, a testament to their ability to score quickly.

“If we don’t get better every week, if we can’t score points every drive like Kansas City … ” Ebron said. “That’s our goal.”


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