Steelers simplified their offense, and the Bengals paid the price

The Pittsburgh Steelers cut back their game plan and put up 411 yards in a 30-27 Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. After going 2-for-12 on third down against New England, they converted 7-of-12. Mike McCarthy’s offense could finally keep a drive alive and use more of its playbook.

McCarthy had promised to trim the plan after the Patriots game, when protection and execution broke down. After beating Cincinnati, he explained what that looked like: more work on specific details and possibly fewer personnel groups.

That sounds right for a line still learning McCarthy’s offense. Aaron Rodgers might know exactly where to go with the ball, but the play falls apart if his protection sees something different. Sunday’s performance suggests a scaled-back plan helped everyone get on the same page. It’s one game, though, and the line still has plenty to prove.

Jaylen Warren gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a run game they could keep using

“A little bit more emphasis and more volume in the specifics would be the way I would define it. Maybe not as many personnel groups,” McCarthy said. He said maybe, so we can’t say for certain that Pittsburgh used fewer groups without comparing the two games, but his point about drilling down into the details fits what we saw on the field.

Rodgers opened with a 30-yard throw to Jaylen Warren and found Roman Wilson for a 38-yard touchdown. On the next touchdown drive, Wilson gained 17 on third-and-11, and Michael Pittman Jr. picked up eight on third-and-6. Ben Skowronek scored from 23 yards out after McCarthy sent him in motion. Pittsburgh gave itself enough plays to get to that call; last week, too many drives ended before it could get anything going.

McCarthy said the line and coaches later turned to “back-burner type runs” once they saw what worked. He didn’t say which carries came from that adjustment. Warren’s production needs no guesswork: with Rico Dowdle sidelined, he took 17 carries for 127 yards and added 49 receiving yards. Pittsburgh kept feeding him, and he kept making people miss.

Warren deserves credit for making the plan work. Rodgers also threw an interception, and the Steelers settled for a field goal after a muffed punt gave them the ball at Cincinnati’s 14. An interception and a wasted short field leave McCarthy plenty to clean up in the short turnaround until their next big divisional showdown against the Cleveland Browns.

McCarthy said the quarterbacks’ in-game communication improved, too. Thursday’s trip to Cleveland gives Pittsburgh only a few days to prepare and another tough defensive front to handle. The Browns defeated the resurgent Panthers to move to a 3-way 2-1 tie in the AFC North (the Ravens-Cowboys game was in progress at the time of this writing). If the Steelers can sort out protections quickly enough to stay on schedule, Rodgers and Warren should have more than a handful of drives in Week 4.

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