by Bo Marchionte

Pittsburgh faced a quality Texans team with their backs against the wall.

Those often are the most dangerous teams to play when their season is on the brink after only three weeks of action in the NFL.
Houston faced arguably two of the best teams in the league with Kansas City and Baltimore to begin their 2020 season. Remember this was the same team who blew a 24-0 lead against Kansas City earlier this year in the AFC Championship game. Throw out the records this was going to be a tough match-up for Pittsburgh. 

Pittsburgh was 0-3 at this point last season and now are 3-0 for the first time since 2010, coincidentally the last time they reached the Super Bowl. Regardless of the 0-3 record on the behalf of the Texans their opening schedule was not kind facing three of the best teams in the AFC.

“Impressive when we get to do the best play in football,” Ben Roethlisberger said after appearing in his 221st game with the Steelers, passing Hall of Fame center Mike Webster. “Which is the victory (formation) three weeks in a row, that’s an awesome feeling.”

Unlike their previous two games, the Steelers were in a shootout with Houston who together combined for 38-points in the first half, in their previous two games there were only 46-points scored in both first halves. The offense looked crisp and was able to utilize all the pieces in their 28-21 win.

It is no secret the Steelers offense is trying to get level with the defense. Today’s game marked a major step towards the offense being capable of churning out long drives and becoming more diverse than we have seen in seasons past.

Racking up a season high 387 total yards of offense, above 390 if not kneeling three times on their final drive of the game, Pittsburgh now has a wide variety of choices to move the ball offensively. We have been accustomed to seeing heavy doses of specific players at the skill positions, but that philosophy is changing for the Steelers in 2020.

Roethlisberger targeted eight different players this afternoon with four having at last four catches or more. The random execution to different players from different positions provides a huge spectrum in which Pittsburgh can move the ball. Receivers led the way in targets with 18, followed by the tight ends with 10 and the running backs with five. 

The off-season addition of Eric Ebron paid huge dividends today with his first touchdown catch as a member of the Steelers. He led the led the team with 52-yards receiving and tying for first on targets (7) and receptions (5). Pittsburgh used Ebron and fellow tight end Vance McDonald plenty against the Texans. It is another element to their offense under Randy Fichtner. The pair combined for eight catches for 87 yards and one touchdown.

“His touchdown was an amazing play,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s just developing trust with him. But what those two, both him and Vance (McDonald) did in the run game was spectacular. Asking them to get around, to lead things. Vance was like the fourth option on his conversion, I think on fourth down, whatever that one way was where he caught it. They’re just making plays. That’s a really unselfish group. It’s fun to be a part of.”

The veteran quarterback has been building that dialogue with plenty of new faces of late, with Ebron, Chase Claypool and second year wideout Diontae Johnson. Forming that level of trust amongst the trio is a work in progress and today it seemed that the first fruits of their labor were starting to appear.

“We’re going to utilize all our eligible,” Tomlin said. “It’s important that we have a balanced group, that we can run it, we can throw it. That we have a variety of people to throw it to. We like the versatility of the group, the specialization of the group, and it allows us to move the ball fluidly.”

Last week it was Johnson with the impact, and he left the game early in the second quarter with a concussion and did not return. Today it was Ebron and rookie Anthony McFarland with substantial contributions.

“It was good to get Anthony McFarland involved,” Tomlin said post-game. It was the debut of rookie fourth rounder out of Maryland. “He brings a different skill set.” McFarland’s speed was evident averaging seven yards per carry on his six carries for 42-yards. Watching McFarland, I can only think this is what Pittsburgh imagine when they took Dri Archer in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. An alternative option in the backfield that creates mismatches for Roethlisberger to exploit.

“We like the trajectory of his game,” Tomlin said. He’s been working hard and practicing hard and having professional detail in his work. So, we had trust in his abilities. So, it was good to get him in the mix. He brings a different skill set than maybe some of others and I think they complement each other well.”

The new look offense still has James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster to rely on when the sledding gets a little harder and big plays are needed in the clutch. Conner now has back-to-back 100-yard game for the first time since his four in a row back in 2018. Conner looked fabulous today and was a big reason why the team was able to churn our long drives and keep Deshaun Watson and company on the sidelines.

Next week it could be Benny Snell who makes the impact like he did in Week 1 against the New York Giants. The Steelers are coming waves. When fans return to the stands, they will have plenty of options on which jersey number they are going to support. Usually the usual suspects are worn but not with this versatile offense.

Pick your poison!

Pittsburgh has a arsenal of young new weapons.