A controversial video of Matt Canada is making its way around the Twitterverse. Late in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens, Kenny Pickett launched a pass down the right sideline to George Pickens. The once-jeering crowd at Acrisure Stadium finally erupted with excitement.
The play resulted in a 41-yard touchdown -- capping off an eight-play, 80-yard drive and giving the Steelers a 14-10 lead with just 1:17 remaining in regulation. This was essentially the dagger to the Ravens. Everyone up in the coaches' box seemed to be ecstatic when this happened... Everyone except for Matt Canada.
While we don't want to pretend to know what's going through the mind of the Steelers' offensive coordinator at this moment, he certainly didn't let his emotions show. Here's a look at his reaction from the CBS broadcast following Pittsburgh's game-winning touchdown.
Matt Canada wasn’t happy when the Steelers scored the game winning score. 😂 #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/ZPyvItzXd5
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) October 8, 2023
You be the judge. Is this the reaction you would have expected from an offensive coordinator whose job may have just been saved on this play?
This strange emotionless display from Canada in a bizarre ending to an otherwise ugly offensive performance is very peculiar, and it has Steelers fans speculating what was going through his mind.
Fans think Kenny Pickett changed the play Matt Canada called
In response to the tweet, many fans believe that this wasn't the play that was called. They think that Kenny Pickett either checked out of Canada's original play or didn't go to the read that the OC designed. If this is indeed the case, it's certainly not a good look for Canada (considering Pickett's decision resulted in a touchdown and the biggest offensive play of the game).
However, like I said, we don't want to speculate here. It's entirely possible that Matt Canada was just frustrated with the way the offense had performed up to this point and simply chose to keep his emotions in check -- knowing that his offense once again failed to exceed expectations.
Still, when you consider the reactions from everyone else up in the box, it is interesting that Canada -- the one guy receiving the most blame for the bad offensive performances this year -- is the only guy who showed no emotion on the game-winning touchdown.
Forget about emotions, Steelers just need to put up better results
Personally, I don't care how Matt Canada reacts to a particular play; what I do care about is putting up points -- something this offense has not been able to do with any sort of consistency. Through the first five games of the 2023 season, the Steelers are averaging a mere 12.4 points per contest (when you take out defensive and special teams scores). This simply isn't enough to sustain success.
Pittsburgh may have squeaked out an unlikely win against Baltimore in Week 5, but this offense has so much work to do. The bye week could not have come at a better time.
Matt Canada is unlikely to be fired anytime soon, considering this team is 3-2 and currently leads the AFC North. But the Steelers offense must produce better results moving forward. Perhaps then Matt Canada will start showing some emotion that matches the reaction of everyone else in the organization.