The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to 5-2 on the season after a Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints in Paris, France. But despite the dominant play from both sides of the trenches, one NFL analyst is nowhere near ready to call the Steelers a true 'contender."
Immediately following the game, NFL Network color analyst Kurt Warner said on the broadcast what we were all thinking about the Steelers' lack of explosive plays from the passing game in their 16-10 win.
Warner made it clear: the Steelers can compete for a playoff spot, but not a Super Bowl with the lack of consistent explosion from the offense.
"I will say, I believe they can contend for a playoff spot. To me, I've got to see a team that has more explosiveness than what I've seen from this Steelers team to believe they can contend for a championship..."
We've talked about it all day long: dink, dunk, short plays. Yes, Jaylen Warren made some huge plays for them, but to me, they have got to find some explosiveness if they are to be a contender—a true contender—for a championship."
The Pittsburgh Steelers won't be true Super Bowl contenders until they become more explosive in the passing game
It wasn't just Warner who thought this. Fellow booth analyst Jason Kelce reiterated these concerns about the Steelers.
When it comes down to it, the Steelers' passing game is hardly threatening—and a few nice plays from Aaron Rodgers each game won't change that.
Sadly, this is something many of us knew all too well, even prior to Warner's comments. The Steelers can only ask so much of Jaylen Warren and the offensive line to bail them out and carry them to victory. In this Week 7 contest, the Steelers outpaced the Saints by a whopping 130 rushing yards on the ground. Sadly, it resulted in just a 16-10 victory in Paris.
While you'll hear fans say, 'a win is a win,' the level of competition ramps up when you get into the playoffs. This style of play will work against suspect teams like the now 2-5 New Orleans Saints in the regular season, but it doesn't work in the postseason—former head coach Mike Tomlin has proven that time and again over the past decade.
Unfortunately, Warner is right. For the Steelers to have a legitimate shot at contending, it's going to take a lot more explosion from the offense—and this needs to come in the passing game. Warner's comments on the 'dink, dunk, short plays' felt like a direct shot at Rodgers.
Rodgers, who turns 43 in the second half of the season, has only taken a handful of shots downfield over the past few weeks. While he's connected on a few (like the 51-yarder to DK Metcalf against the Saints), there's no consistency here, and he's been off on most of his downfield targets.
Even with the 51-yard completion in the first half in Week 7, Rodgers still finished the game just 19 of 30 for 212 yards (7.1 yards per attempt) and one score while aiding the Steelers to just 16 points of offense in the one-score win.
When the Steelers face stiffer competition, it won't matter how well Pittsburgh plays in the trenches if they can't consistently pass the football beyond five air yards. Kurt Warner just brought light to Pittsburgh's biggest issue, and it will hold Mike McCarthy's team back from being legitimate contenders if they can't find a way to fix it soon.
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