Pittsburgh’s Third-Down Offense Is Bad. It Shouldn’t Be.

One reason for the “herky-jerky” nature of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, the phrase Mike McCarthy has used several times already, is poor third-down offense. Pittsburgh’s inability to sustain drives is preventing the offense from getting into any flow or rhythm. More obviously, it’s not moving the offense downfield and into position to score. Most often, poor third-down offense is a byproduct of being in unmanageable situations. Better known as “third and long.” The more an offense is backed up, the harder it is to convert. That’s not the case with Pittsburgh, however. Despite its poor first-down offense, the Steelers have…