Mike Tomlin is playing puppet master with Arthur Smith (and it has to stop)

After scoring just 18 points against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, we all hoped to see more aggressiveness from offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. We got our wish... at least in the first half.

That's when Mike Tomlin decided to put the training wheels back on.

On the second offensive series of the game, quarterback Justin Fields marched the offense down the field for a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive -- capped off with a brilliant play design with a back-shoulder fade to 6'7'' tight end, Darnell Washington.

The next two times Pittsburgh possessed the ball on offense, they combined for 105 yards of offense but penalties stalled drives. The biggest was a holding call from Broderick Jones that wiped out what would have been a 51-yard strike to George Pickens down the right sideline.

But when the Steelers got a 10-point lead in the second quarter, everything changed.

In the second half of the game, Smith didn't dial up as plays designed to stretch the field or test suspect linebackers over the middle. Instead, Pittsburgh reverted back to predictable run plays and risk-free pass concepts with no explosive play upside.

Why did this happen? Coach Tomlin was simply executing his game plan.

Tomlin needs to surrendered full control of the offense to Arthur Smith

Mike Tomlin doesn't call the plays on offense for Pittsburgh; that's Arthur Smith's job. But make no mistake: the Steelers head coach has his fingerprints all over what happened in Week 2.

In the second half of the game, Pittsburgh's offense mounted just three points as they let their foot off the gas. This is exactly the game plan Tomlin wanted to execute. Instead of sticking with what was clearly working in the first half and aiding in the development of Fields and the offensive line, Tomlin was more concerned with not turning the football over.

This is the definition of playing not to lose the game instead of playing to win the game. I can't say that I agree with this approach.

I have no doubt Tomlin's philosophy is good enough to win football games when going against pedestrian opponents in the regular season. We've seen this work time and again over the years. However, as soon as this team goes up against a high-powered offense, this offense proves that it doesn't have the firepower to compete.

Instead of learning to rack up points as the season goes on, Tomlin is teaching the offense to dial it back. This team is averaging a dismal 15.5 points per game through two contests. If Pittsburgh's head coach believes in Arthur Smith, he should trust his OC to do what's best at every point in the game.

Smith is no Andy Reid. His track record doesn't suggest the Steelers would have racked up 30 points against the Broncos if he had complete control in Week 2. At the same time, the stark difference between Pittsburgh's offensive play-calling early in the game and their play-calling with a two-score lead screams Mike Tomlin.

If this team wants to find more success than simply having another non-losing season for the umpteenth year, Mike Tomlin needs to stop playing puppet master with the offense and let Arthur Smith foster success.