Steelers' Mike Tomlin names the offensive problem holding Pittsburgh back

Following a 30-7 loss against the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers clearly lacked an offensive identity on Sunday. Seemingly recording a three & out every drive, the offense had a mere 10 rushing attempts, and only one drive at the end of the first half that resembled an NFL offense. Well, Coach Tomlin knows […]

Rob Gregson — NFL News Writer

Sep 11, 2023 8:53 AM EDT

Following a 30-7 loss against the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers clearly lacked an offensive identity on Sunday.

Seemingly recording a three & out every drive, the offense had a mere 10 rushing attempts, and only one drive at the end of the first half that resembled an NFL offense.

Well, Coach Tomlin knows that's a problem and he got into the specifics:

"You've Got to Win the Weighty Downs"

"We didn't win enough possession downs to be competitive," Tomlin told reporters. "You can't start games 0-5 on third down and think you're going to have the type of day that you desire. You've got to win the weighty downs."

Tomlin is referring to the Steelers' inability to convert when it mattered most, failing to score a touchdown until the last possession of the second half, and struggling to generate anything other than a sack, interception, or punt.

Most of the media was questioning the Steelers' playcalling, wondering how even in the modern NFL, a team with a philosophy of pounding the rock could only muster 10 rushing attempts as opposed to 46 passes.

As Coach T reiterated, "Once again, we couldn't convert on the weighty downs, so the disparity doesn't matter when you're never on the field."

And while that's true, only six, yes six attempts from your first-round running back [Najee Harris] that has accumulated over 1000 rushing yards in back-to-back years simply isn't good enough and never will be to win in the NFL, even if pounding the rock is going the way of the Dodo Bird.