Matt Canada deserves criticism despite Steelers win vs Falcons

The Pittsburgh Steelers barely held on to defeat the Falcons in Week 13. Despite the win, Matt Canada should be reamed out for his play-calling. 

Shame on me for being optimistic. For a second there, I thought things might have changed but I should have known better. These past two games have been a tale of two halves for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Matt Canada continues to revert back to his old stubborn ways.

Just like the Colts game in Week 12, the first half against the Atlanta Falcons was all we could have asked for. Kenny Pickett was allowed to play backyard football as he scanned the field and used his legs to extend the play. Even though he had a few misses (including one big missed opportunity down the seam to Pat Freiermuth), the results were excellent.

After two quarters of play, Pickett had a noteworthy stat line of 145 passing yards and a touchdown — earning an impressive 7.6 yards per attempt, via ESPN stats. Pickett’s performance helped lead the Steelers to 16 first-half points and a 10-point lead entering the tunnel.

But just like clockwork, Matt Canada would impose his will in the second half.

Over the final two quarters, the Pittsburgh Steelers reverted back to the same old scripted play-calling we’ve gotten used to seeing since day one. Canada would predictably show his hand on running plays, and instead of designing plays to go to the sticks on third down, he was content running screen passes and speed-outs that came up well short and forced Pittsburgh to punt.

The offense in the second half consisted of 1 field goal and 3 punts. This vanilla game plan was contrary to what we saw in the first half against the Falcons and it equated to just 3 points over the final 30 minutes of play. As a result, a pedestrian Atlanta team was able to climb right back into this contest as Pittsburgh narrowly squeaked by with a 19-16 win.

Matt Canada must be held accountable despite Steelers win

At what point do we say enough is enough? Is Mike Tomlin aware of how predictable and conservative Matt Canada’s play-calling gets when Pittsburgh gets a lead? This needs to come to an end once and for all.

By placing an emphasis on playing ball-control offense and attempting to wind down the clock when the Steelers have the lead, Canada is not only hindering Kenny Pickett’s development, but he’s hurting Pittsburgh’s chances of hanging onto the lead. In each of the past two games, Pickett has been reduced to being a puppet in Canada’s scripted second-half offense — unable to do any of the things that could potentially make him special.

Look, I understand trying to take care of the football when you have a lead, but you also play to win the game. I’m fairly certain that as long as Canada is around, the Steelers will be incapable of blowing out even the most lackluster opponent.

I’ve given Canada some credit as of late for allowing his QB to make plays that fit his skillset, but all of that apparently goes away in the second half.

As always, I’m going to break down the tape a second time and take notes, but I have a feeling I won’t be feeling any better about the offensive play-calling in the final two quarters. The Steelers ultimately came away with a win, but the second-half game plan nearly cost Pittsburgh the game.