The Steelers had perhaps one of their worst games on third down on offense of all time Sunday night, finishing 2-for-11 after starting 0-for-9. While they converted twice on their final scoring drive, they were already down 22 with four minutes left to play. QB Aaron Rodgers took plenty of blame after the Steelers’ 25-10 loss to the Chargers, but he, and his receivers, left room to spread it around.
Rodgers repeatedly pointed the finger at himself for the Steelers’ offensive shortcomings but also noted that receivers struggled to get open. Pat Freiermuth acknowledged that stark reality, which isn’t at all new this season. It was especially an issue on possession downs, including the fourth-down incompletion to DK Metcalf in the red zone.
“Just being able to get open. Probably the biggest thing”, Freiermuth said about what the Steelers need to do to improve their third-down play on offense, via the team’s website. “We know what they’re gonna do and we’ve just got to be able to execute better. That’s the biggest thing. We have to look at ourselves going forward as being able to execute and get open for Aaron, to be able to put the ball where it needs to be and get open on time”.
The Steelers opened the game with three straight drives that failed to move the chains. Thanks to one bad punt, they still managed to get a 59-yard field goal out of it, but that sequence set the tone for a long night on the offensive side of the ball. On the third down setting up that play, Rodgers scrambled but just missed DK Metcalf for a potential touchdown. When not blanketed by opposing defenses, Metcalf is the one player most capable of creating separation
Aaron Rodgers went just 16-for-31 for 161 yards on the day, the Steelers producing just one touchdown on offense when it was already far too late. And they needed to convert twice on third down on that final drive after failing on their first nine attempts. Rodgers even took a safety for one of their third-down failures—partly because nobody was open.
“We know what we have to do, and the only thing we can do is go back to work on Wednesday and figure out a plan to attack that and be that”, Freiermuth said about how the Steelers offense goes about correcting its mistakes. And that includes continuing to clean up the protection, which is forcing quick throws. It’s hard to create separation when the ball is out so quickly.
Perhaps the Steelers hope that Roman Wilson can be another player on offense who gets open. He has shown signs in recent weeks within his increased playing time. Last night, he caught two passes for 35 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown. Of course, that was the too-little-too-late touchdown that made it 25-10 late in the fourth quarter. But when your top receivers go a combined 5-of-14 for 49 yards and a drop, what can you do?