PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – 24 points is nice, it seems like a lot compared to what the Steelers have done in the last couple of years. If they just averaged that many, it would only be middle of the pack in the NFL.
"I think there is a lot of room to grow," said Steelers center Mason Cole. "It's a shell of what we can be, but a step in the right direction."
"We have to continue to build on that," said Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth. "We need to continue to do that on offense."
"We certainly have great belief in what we're doing, great belief in players, great belief in coach," said Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada. "Until things are right consistently, we're not going to be happy."
"Found a way to win. That's really, really good. We did some things much better. There are some things we can do much better. So, just we'll keep trying to stack days, stack wins, get ourselves back to the consistent place where we want to be and take it from there."
The way Allen Robinson put it they need to keep their foot on the gas after a scoring three touchdowns against the Raiders. They need to capitalize on the opportunities that they have, especially when the defense provides a short field or a momentum play.
"I thought we were able to get into a good rhythm and flow at times in the game," Robinson said. "I think for us, there are certain things we need to get corrected to sustain drives, to be able to stay on the field. Early in the season it's about battling, it's about staying locked in each and every week. Staying locked in on the details, so you continue to ascend."
For third-year tight end Pat Freiermuth it's about not making mistakes.
"Obviously the biggest thing is we didn't turn the ball over," Freiermuth said. "We were able to stay on schedule, run the ball, able to do all the things we did in camp successfully. We need to continue to build on that. There are some things we still want to accomplish detail-wise, but we just have to continue to focus on that and hone in on that. We need to keep building on this performance."
"Just executing our game plan," said tailback Najee Harris. "Just being more detailed. We were running more efficiently. It just takes time. As long as we are trending upwards, that's all that matters. The run game is starting to open up a lot of stuff. Play action helps create big plays."
And the biggest play offensively last Sunday was a 72-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin. It worked because of all the details, the offensive line stayed on their blocks and when All-Pro Maxx Crosby came free, Jaylen Warren did his job and picked him up giving Pickett time to throw.
"Lord willing there will be more moments and other opportunities," Austin said. "Once everyone is executing we can put drives together. When we looked at all the games, all it came down to a missed assignment here, someone a little bit off there. Once we are on the same page, we can put drives like that together. You can feel it on the field."
"Understanding what caused some of those things—why you had success. Polish what you did well and then sharpen up on the things you didn't do well," Robinson said. "Now you are going to the rolodex of seeing what worked well and what didn't."
Pickett said they are just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of what they've shown on offense. In order to keep getting those big plays and finishing drives it's about, quoting his head coach, doing the routine things routinely.
"Staying attentive to detail, being able to be locked in, practicing hard," Robinson said. "In a season, that's what you have to do, win, lose or draw. The same way coming off back-to-back wins, after having a better outing as an offense. We can't come back and try and re-invent the wheel this week. We got to continue to do what we've been doing to get better."
"Nobody focus on anyone else but themselves," Austin said. "Everyone needs to know their individual assignment and execute it. Once we do that, the only people that can stop us are ourselves."
"Got two primetime wins, which was great for us, you know," Pickett said, "Great momentum leading into it. But it does nothing if you don't go out there and take care of business Sunday. So, we want to just continue to build on the momentum and the consistency that we're starting here."
