Mitch Trubisky revealed Sunday that Steelers players are already questioning offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s play calls in the huddle.
They’re doing it publicly, too, starting with the quarterback.
Is Matt Canada being treated unfairly?
In the immediate aftermath of the Patriots’ 17-14 win over the Steelers, Trubisky took questions at the podium about Pittsburgh’s lethargic offensive showing. He constantly threw the ball short of the sticks and almost never went over the middle of the field.
Trubisky indicated Canada’s play-calling is the reason for his apparent aversion to throwing over the middle.
“Call concepts to get receivers there,” he said.
That’s a pretty direct shot, though Trubisky is far from blameless for the Steelers’ offensive struggles. He threw a bad interception in the first half Sunday (Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson jumped the route without Trubisky noticing) and once again failed to target George Pickens (one catch for 23 yards).
But for the second straight season, the Steelers are costing themselves with a maddeningly conservative game plan. Their ill-fated strategy of prioritizing dump-offs over actual passes was especially apparent in the second half, when Trubisky targeted running backs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris underneath on 3rd-and-longs.
Neither player converted the first down.
“We say in this game on offense a lot, you take what the defense gives you. But when it’s 3rd-and-8 and they give you five, that doesn’t count. That doesn’t work,” said CBS analyst Charles Davis.
The Steelers finally had success when they picked up the pace, scoring a touchdown on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that only took 2:39. Pat Freiermuth, who caught the touchdown pass from Trubisky, told reporters they need to play out of the no-huddle more often.
“We’ve shown even last year and into this year in the preseason, when we go tempo and two-minute, that’s when we are really going,” he said.
Canada is far from the Steelers’ only problem, and Trubisky isn’t making a strong case to hold onto the starting job. But even still, the Steelers feature a bevy of playmakers: Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Harris, Pickens and Freiermuth. There’s no excuse for their anemic offensive efforts.
Changing the play-calling won’t fix everything, but it’s a start. The players are saying it out loud.