Life after Matt Canada seemed to be treating the Pittsburgh Steelers pretty well.
In their first game since they fired their offensive coordinator, the Steelers’ offense broke out in a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh recorded 400-plus yards for the first time since 2020 and outgained an opponent for the first time all season.
Since Canada’s firing on Tuesday, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner had taken over day-to-day OC duties, while quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan had called the plays on Sunday in the victory.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett, who completed 24 of 33 passing attempts for 278 yards, told reporters after the game that there was an adjustment period to get used to Sullivan as the play-caller.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson said the most noticeable change was the “flow of the game.”
“Everything. The calls that were just coming in,” Johnson explained postgame, according to ESPN. “Everybody was on their job today. Just seeing the energy was different. We was just moving the ball, playing and going and we was able to get the job done today.”
The win certainly helped boost some of the morale inside the Steelers locker room.
“We all know what we’re capable of,” Pickett told reporters. “We know we’re capable of putting that kind of offense out there every week. We just weren’t able to do it in these previous weeks, but it was awesome. It feels good to come together like that and put out a great game.”
While the win was a positive, the Steelers still only put up 16 points on Sunday and they had entered the game averaging 16.6 points, which was ranked 28th in the NFL.
Head coach Mike Tomlin also warned that the victory didn’t magically fix the Steelers offensive issues.
“I’m not trying to paint with a broad brush and act like, ‘Eureka!'” Tomlin said. “We did what we needed to do to win today, and we’ll keep pushing.”