Matt Canada believes Pittsburgh Steelers have established clear offensive identity
The Pittsburgh Steelers are far from an identity crisis on the offensive side of the ball heading into the 2023 season. Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada is entering his third season as Pittsburgh’s play-caller, and apparently, he would like to continue leaning into the strength of their offensive attack from the back end of last season.
“I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games,” Canada said. “We ran the ball really well. We were physical. You saw who we drafted, who we acquired. I don’t think there’s any question about what our identity’s gonna be.”
The Steelers rushed for 121.9 yards per game last season, but averaged 146 yards per game in their last nine games of the year. During that stretch, Pittsburgh went on an impressive 7-2 run after starting the season 2-6, maintaining head coach Mike Tomlin’s 16-year streak of never-ending the season with a losing record.
The heartbeat of Pittsburgh’s rushing attack is running back Najee Harris, who rushed for over 1,000 yards again in his second season as a pro. His 272 carries ranked fifth in the NFL and his 1,034 rushing yards ranked 15th, but the Steelers have made various moves this offseason for him to improve even more upon his production.
In this year’s draft alone the Steelers traded up to select Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones with the No. 14 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft. Later in the third round the Steelers selected another Bulldog, tight end Darnell Washington, who was regarded as one of the most physically gifted prospects in the entire draft who has proven to be effective not just in the passing game, but in the run game as well as a blocker.
Pittsburgh also selected former Maryland offensive tackle Spencer Anderson with their final draft pick in the seventh round.
“I think we wanna run the football, we wanna be physical, we wanna be a good team that throws the ball down the field and take advantage of what the defense gives us. And so I think our identity has been well known and we’ll stay at where we’re at,” Canada said.
The ground-and-pound attack worked great for Pittsburgh to close out the season last year, and it’s clear that they’ll continue to make that their bread and butter in 2023. This could not only continue helping them win games, but also open things up for quarterback Kenny Pickett as he heads into his second season under center for the Steelers.