It's hard to complain about a 3-1 start to the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially when the rest of the AFC North is in the midst of an early-season meltdown. But we're not asking too much to want to see more from the offense. After all, the ultimate goal is to win in the postseason—not just get to the playoffs.
Entering the Steelers' early Week 5 bye, Pittsburgh's offense ranks 16th in scoring (24.0 points per game), 29th in yards (263.5 per game), 25th in yards per play (4.9), and 11th in EPA per play. Unfortunately, the Steelers are also 26th in the NFL with just 17 big plays.
While the rushing attack has had its struggles early in the season, the passing game has been just as ugly. Pittsburgh's offense is managing a mere 183.5 passing yards per game (26th), and that number dropped to just 160.5 passing yards per game over Weeks 3 and 4.
There's a reason for these egregious numbers, but the worst stat of all is solely the product of Arthur Smith's offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' target distribution is a recipe for disaster
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive shortcomings has to do with the head-scratching target distribution. Through the first four games of the 2025 season, Aaron Rodgers has thrown 60 combined passes to tight ends and running backs while targeting wide receivers just 44 times. This is a sickening ratio.
The results speak for themselves.
Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, for example, have combined to earn just 136 yards on 26 targets with one touchdown (while Rodgers has thrown one interception when targeting these tight ends), per Pro Football Reference. The results of just 5.2 yards per target and an 85.2 passer rating when targeted hardly make these tight ends worth an occasional look in the passing offense.
Targeting the running backs has been almost as inefficient. While Jaylen Warren did have a remarkable 65-yard catch and run early in the season, the rest of the numbers have been poor outside of this play when going to running backs, and Kenneth Gainwell has managed a mere 4.1 yards per target when the ball comes his way in the receiving game.
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Wide receivers, on the other hand, have been the most efficient and offer the most big plays. When quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown the ball to wide receivers, Rodgers has 429 passing yards on 44 targets with six touchdowns and two interceptions. This means a yards per attempt of 9.75 with a passer rating of 114.5.
The difference between targeting wide receivers or tight ends and running backs has been night and day... and even Arthur Smith can no longer ignore it.
While Smith insists that tight ends and running backs must be a monumental part of his offense, we simply aren't seeing quality results targeting these positions in the passing game. The Pittsburgh Steelers must get their wide receivers more involved if they want to maximize the upside of their otherwise disappointing offense.