Pittsburgh Steelers fans have to be thrilled with the way that their offense came out swinging against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. Last week on Thursday Night Football, offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, called plays from the sideline for the first time in his career. He elected to do the same today, and so far, things seem to be working out for the offense.
In the first half against the Packers, Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris were a two-headed monster -- rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries, per ESPN stats. The offense was moving the football with ease, which was an awesome sight to see. However, the defense raised some major concerns early in Week 10.
After the Steelers made the first statement of the day by marching the ball down the field for a score, the Packers answered back with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that was capped off with a touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs. Two drives later, Green Bay's offense made it look easy with a 7-play, 87-yard TD drive.
In the best first-half offensive performance the Pittsburgh Steelers have seen dating back to last season, all they needed was the defense to be their usual selves against an inexperienced offense. This time, however, they let Matt Canada and the offense down.
Steelers offense outplays the defense early
In the first two quarters of play, the Steelers allowed 2 touchdowns and a 116.4 passer rating to QB Jordan Love. They also gave up 77 rushing yards on just 11 carries to Green Bay in the first half.
Injuries certainly played a factor in some of the big plays allowed by the defense. Minkah Fitzpatrick was once again absent with a hamstring. At the linebacker position, Kwon Alexander suffered an injury early in the game. This was a tough blow to stomach after losing Cole Holcomb for the season last week to a gruesome knee injury.
For one of the first times this year, fans can hardly blame the offense for the inability to pull away from their opponent. Pittsburgh found ways to move the ball in the first half of the game, but the defense didn't hold up their end of the bargain this time around.
Fortunately, after a blocked extra point, the Packers have only 13 first-half points -- giving the Steelers a four-point lead at the half. Let's hope the defense can step it up from here.