4 stats the Steelers must improve upon in 2023

Pittsburgh's offense was stagnant in 2022; here's where they must improve the most
Pittsburgh Steelers, Najee Harris
Pittsburgh Steelers, Najee Harris / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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Points per game, 2022 rank: 26th

I know, big surprise that a team that barely scored 300 points needs to improve that number in 2023. For the Steelers, however, it doesn't even need to jump that much for them to add a few wins to their record this season. The average offense scored 21.9 points per game in 2022, compared to the 18.1 the Steelers managed. If they were just league average in scoring, they would have had a +26 point differential instead of the -38 they ended with.

That +26 number isn't elite by any means, but it would have been worth an extra win or two if not more. It was a down scoring year for the NFL in 2022, so maybe they would need to get up to 23 or 24 points a game to be average. With the way the Steelers defense is coming together, they may even improve upon their 10th rank in points allowed as well.

All of this is to say that regardless of how the Steelers offense wants to lean on or what the game plan is going to be in 2023, it all has to be centered around converting more of their drives into touchdowns. They were great at holding on to the football, ranking sixth in time of possession. That doesn't mean anything though when you can't score after holding the ball for so long. Doing that just gets the game closer to the end, not something you want to do unless you are nursing a fourth-quarter lead.

Next. 4 free agency do-overs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 4 free agency do-overs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. dark

The good news is if I know that the Steelers must improve upon all of these stats, I am sure they know it too. Their offseason does seem like they have an identity in mind on offense and understood their weaknesses across the roster. Whether it will lead to more wins remains to be seen, but you can't say they won't be trying to improve in these areas.