What Should Be the Pittsburgh Steelers' Offensive Identity This Season?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-1 after two games, owing heavily to inconsistent performances on offense, particularly in the passing game. 

In Week 1, a last-second home win over the Cleveland Browns, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a mostly sharp game. He completed 23 of 34 pass attempts—67.6 percent—for 365 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

He averaged 10.74 yards per pass attempt, and receivers Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and running back Le'Veon Bell all had over 85 receiving yards apiece. As a result, the Steelers scored touchdowns on three of their five red-zone appearances.

However, Roethlisberger struggled in his second outing, a 26-6 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens. His completion percentage dropped to 59.5 percent, and he completed 22 of his 37 pass attempts for 217 yards, no scores and an interception. His yards per attempt dipped to 5.87, and the Steelers did not score a touchdown on their two red-zone appearances.

Game	Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	YPA	TD	INT	Sack
vs. CLE	34	23	67.6%	365	10.74	1	1	3
@ BAL	37	22	59.2%	217	5.87	0	1	2
Total	71	45	63.4%	582	8.20	1	2	5
2013	584	375	64.2%	4,261	7.30	28	14	42

Problems in the red zone are nothing new for the Steelers. Currently, the Steelers are averaging 2.5 red-zone appearances per game but rank 31st in touchdown percentage in the red zone at 20 percent. Last year, the Steelers averaged a touchdown on 52.83 percent of their 3.3 attempts per game and in 2012 scored touchdowns on 55.1 percent of their average 3.1 attempts per game.

However, 20 percent through two games is certainly a sign of a decline in red-zone scoring for the Steelers, even with a small sample size. And it might be a sign that Roethlisberger and the passing game isn't the ideal offensive identity for this team this year.

The Steelers' run game has been the one consistent fixture in the offense, though it too recorded no touchdowns in Week 2. Leading the way is Bell, who has 168 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown this season and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. 

Bell was most effective in Week 1 when the Steelers had the luxury to run the ball more after going into halftime with a 24-3 lead over the Browns. Bell rushed 21 times in that game for 109 yards and a score.

Playing from behind in Baltimore, however, Bell had just 11 carries for 59 yards but still managed an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. He was also the team's second-leading receiver in the game, with five catches on five targets for 48 yards.

Roethlisberger may have the benefit of 2013's second-leading receiver Antonio Brown catching his passes. The speedy Markus Wheaton is continuing to develop into a reliable target, and tight end Heath Miller remains as Roethlisberger's safety valve.

But suddenly it seems like taking a run-heavy approach could yield the Steelers better results than the Roethlisberger-heavy one they've taken for years.

	Red Zone Appearance/Game	Red Zone TD %/Game
2012	3.1	55.10%
2013	3.3	52.83%
2014	2.5	20.00%

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Roethlisberger's accuracy is down. Among 35 quarterbacks ranked, Roethlisberger is 28th, with an accuracy percentage (which takes into account drops, spikes and throwaways) of 68.7. He was tied for seventh in 2013 with an accuracy percentage of 74.7 percent.

Chris Trapasso of Field Gulls also has been compiling quarterback accuracy statistics this season and has Roethlisberger ranked dead last in Total Accuracy, a metric based on Pro Football Focus' accuracy percentage numbers and average depth-of-target stats for quarterbacks.

Roethlisberger has also been sacked five times and has thrown one touchdown to two interceptions, though he's taking much less time to throw than in 2013—2.43 seconds so far this year versus 2.61 seconds last year. While it's good he's getting the ball out faster, he's not throwing good passes each time that he does. 

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

These accuracy issues are related to the Steelers' red-zone issues. Roethlisberger has attempted six passes thus far in the opponents' red zones but has only completed two of them. Those completions netted just a total of nine yards and no touchdowns, and they resulted once in a sack and once in an interception.

In contrast, Pittsburgh's red-zone running has been quite good. Eight red-zone rushing attempts have resulted in 29 yards of offense, two touchdowns and no turnovers. The Steelers are averaging 4.45 yards per red-zone rush and have three first downs in the red zone via the run.

The Steelers have spent the past several years—from the Bruce Arians era to the current Todd Haley one—focusing more on being a pass-first offense, following the overarching trend of the league. This approach works when a team has great receiving options (which the Steelers do) and an accurate, reliable quarterback (which the Steelers presently don't seem to have on a consistent basis).

Player	Rush Atts	Rush Yds.	Rush TD	YPC	Fum.	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec. Yds.	Rec. TD
Bell	32	168	1	5.3	0	12	11	136	0
Blount	7	14	1	2.0	0	2	0	0	0

Now that Roethlisberger's accuracy has taken an appreciable hit, the Steelers should think about letting Bell—and, to a lesser degree, LeGarrette Blount—play bigger roles in the offense. Currently, the Steelers are averaging a respectable 113 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per rush, up considerably from the 86.4 and 3.5 yards they averaged respectively last season. 

The Steelers offense doesn't have to suddenly morph into the power-running team that was Pittsburgh's hallmark prior to Arians and then Haley coming aboard. It doesn't need to be a throwback. However, if Roethlisberger's accuracy issues are the new lay of the land, then the suddenly productive run game should be featured more in order to pick up the slack.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

It's easy to look at Pittsburgh's offensive roster and see a team that should be heavily dependent on the pass. There is Roethlisberger, the tough quarterback who can extend plays. There is Brown, one of the league's fastest receivers with excellent yards-after-catch ability. There is Miller, who has a longstanding reputation as a chain-mover.

However, the passing game hasn't been producing enough points nor performing well in the red zone. The run game, however, has. The Steelers therefore need to re-examine their run-pass balance and feature the run game more, especially in potential scoring situations.

Roethlisberger is nowhere near washed up, but now there is a productive run game in place to support him, perhaps it's time for more red-zone touches for Bell and fewer passes by Roethlisberger.