Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the most potent passing offense in the NFL. This was at times a negative when the team just needed to run the football. All the talk this offseason has been about how much the Steelers’ defense has improved but even with the trade of wide receiver Antonio Brown, a case can be made the Steelers offense will be better this year as well.
Here are the three spots where the Steelers offense is improved for 2019.
Forced balance
Last year with Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster on the team is was easy for Ben Roethlisberger to just look to throw the football over and over. Roethlisberger topped 5,000 passing yards in 2018 but there were times when it didn’t help the team and didn’t seem necessary. Now, with Brown gone, we are counting on a more balanced offense which should pay off bigtime in close games.
Emphasis on the tight end
The last time the Steelers had a tight end with more than 75 receptions in a season was Heath Miller back in 2009. Vance McDonald might not put up those kinds of numbers but we are optimistic he will top his 50 catches from 2018. With Smith-Schuster the focus of the coverage this season it will be important for a big target like McDonald to take advantage of what should be some very favorable matchups.
Experience for Randy Fichtner
Last season was a series of growing pains for new offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. You could see over the course of the season he struggled with his decision making, especially in game. But look for a big leap but Fichtner this season and the offense will see the benefits of his maturity and experience.
