Sitting on a 6-6 record entering Week 14, Pittsburgh Steelers fans understand that this team has little time left to get its act in order. The final stretch of the season will be pivotal and must prove to be a turning point if Mike Tomlin wants to sneak into the playoffs and snap his eight-year, winless postseason drought.
But the latest stat after the team's Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills exposes just how bad things are for the Steelers.
We all know that the Steelers can't surrender 249 rushing yards in a game and expect to emerge victorious. However, as bad as the defense was against Buffalo—and has been in recent weeks—the passing game has even bigger issues that must be addressed.
On Monday, an X post from the NFL on CBS's Ben Fennell went viral, which immediately sent Steelers fans into a frenzy. Fennell pointed out that the Steelers have not completed a single downfield pass in over a month. Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph are a combined zero of 13 with three interceptions on passes of 20-plus air yards over Pittsburgh's last five games.
To put this into perspective, Steelers quarterbacks over the past month would have recorded a better passer rating had they immediately spiked the ball on every play than Rodgers and Rudolph have when throwing downfield passes of 20-plus air yards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must resolve the downfield passing game issues immediately
Because the Pittsburgh Steelers no longer have an elite defense, they can't afford to have the league's worst downfield passing game if they want to have a chance to compete down the stretch. Even if Tomlin's team found a way to sneak into the playoffs, this team would quickly be eliminated from the postseason if they couldn't find a way to stretch the field and increase their explosive play rate through the passing game.
It's easy to point at the quarterbacks for the lack of success. Rodgers and Rudolph have been a collective train wreck since late October, and things have only gotten worse since then. In fact, Rodgers has averaged just 163.2 passing yards per game with an 83.5 passer rating over his last five starts.
While the quarterbacks certainly deserve blame for their underwhelming performances, Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith must unlock the middle of the field if they are to challenge defenses deep. The Steelers attempt to limit risky throws between the hashes. Though this helps avoid costly interceptions, it also greatly stunts the upside of the offense.
By using the middle of the field routinely, Pittsburgh's offense can help keep opposing defenses on their toes.
Additionally, Steelers wide receivers must find ways to win routinely. DK Metcalf has been underwhelming, despite the heavy draft capital and financial investment used to acquire him. The two-time Pro Bowler has been inconsistent at the catch point. Meanwhile, the combination of Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin has fallen short, and neither player has made plays down the field routinely.
The good news is that there's only room to go up from here. The Pittsburgh Steelers need to utilize the middle of the field and keep attempting to push the ball down the field—because if they can't figure things out now, they won't have a shot even if they slide into the playoffs.