3 reasons Steelers showed potential to be special in Week 1

Steelers offense did little in terms of points in Week 1, yet we saw flashes

There is a lot to unpack, offensively, both good and bad for Pittsburgh in Week 1.

However, young players contributed. There were a lot of little mistakes throughout this phase of play. There were some missed throws, missed opportunities, and missed assignments.

Yet, in the second half, we starting getting flashes like this catch from Chase Claypool:

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1437126845217058820

Eight different Steelers had at least one reception, and four of them averaged over 10 yards a catch. Diontae Johnson had a miraculous catch in the back of the end zone, while Claypool showed the ability to catch through contact that I hoped he would improve from last season.

I’m not in the business of making excuses, but the good thing about a lot of the Steelers’ issues is that they should be fixed with time, especially in a 17-game season. To start with, Ben Roethlisberger was off-target on a lot of passes in Week 1. However, he made some quality throws in this game and should become more consistent after another week or two.

Try to remember, Roethlisberger suited up for very very few preseason snaps in a game setting. I’m not expecting to see Big Ben in his true form until Weeks 3 or Week 4, truthfully.

However, he did enough for Pittsburgh to win in Week 1 and that’s what matters.

The offensive line is in a similar dilemma. The Steelers were already without their starting right tackle in this game. Injuries had kept most of the starting offensive line from practicing together much in the preseason, let alone playing in live games. I do expect the line to improve as it spends more time jelling. People often don’t understand how important chemistry is on the O-line, and the Steelers will be looking to build that particularly when Zach Banner comes back healthy.

Banner will be a nice improvement at the right tackle spot, and as Trai Turner, Kendrick Green, and Kevin Dotson get acclimated to playing with each other, I expect the interior of the line to become a strong point on this team by the end of the season.

That is assuming that the three of them stay healthy together this year.

The offense is a work in progress. Yet, the Steelers are filled with potential on that side of the ball, and the keys to this team being special are the health of the players and how much the young players on offense can grow by the end of the season.