It doesn’t take being inside the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room to understand their offensive issues. Still, offensive tackle Troy Fautanu acknowledged Pittsburgh must make a change, in any or all areas, for results to improve after a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
“You gotta go back and watch the film. And then something’s gotta change,” Fautanu said via the KDKA Extra Point postgame show Sunday when asked how the unit’s performance gets better. “I don’t know whether that’s we’re not working hard enough as an offense. Or we’re not working hard enough as a o-line or just not connecting well with each other. Something’s gotta change.”
Strong words from Fautanu after just the second week and first loss of the season. But there’s plenty of reason to fret about Pittsburgh’s offense through the first eight quarters of the season. Pittsburgh has just one offensive touchdown and only mustered a field goal against the Patriots. The third-down offense remains abysmal, the running game invisible, and Aaron Rodgers has taken far too many hits. In Week 2, he was hit seven times, sacked four times, and fumbled twice.
Fautanu hasn’t helped the cause. Battling an ankle injury may be an explanation but he admitted it can’t be an excuse for his performance.
“No one’s 100 [percent healthy],” he said. “Everyone in the NFL is dealing with something.”
Mike McCarthy wouldn’t commit to personnel changes but admitted the “volume” of the playbook must be reduced. A more simplified approach instead of a broad game plan could be one way to improve output. Offensive line changes will be speculated about throughout the week as the team could turn to Brock Hoffman and Max Iheanachor on the right side of its offensive line.
Pittsburgh has no time left to waste. The Steelers will begin divisional play next Sunday against a 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals team. A loss to the Bengals would give them immediate early control over the AFC North and have the Steelers climbing out of a deep hole before September ends.