Arthur Smith didn’t have the easiest job in his first year as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator. His starting quarterback was ruled out just before the season opener with a lingering calf injury, and he had to adjust his offense to fit Justin Fields for six weeks. Then Russell Wilson came back, and the offense changed again, getting off to a good start. Unfortunately, that wasn’t sustainable.
It’s only been one game, but Aaron Rodgers seems to be a huge upgrade at quarterback for the Steelers. He doesn’t move the same as he used to. But some of his throws looked like the vintage version of him out there. And more than a little credit for that should go to Smith, according to insider Brian Batko.
“I think that was the best game that I can recall Arthur Smith dialing up for the Steelers since he’s been installed as their OC,” Batko said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan. “I am not trying to take anything away from Aaron Rodgers and what he did. But every one of them [touchdown passes] I think you can argue was a little more scheme-centric than just threading the needle and dropping a dime.”
“Arthur Smith was in his bag.”
Obviously coordinators have a big hand in the way offenses run. However, they can’t execute on the field, only the players can. Smith’s offense had plenty of struggles as the 2024 season came to a close. Things got bad enough that Smith and Wilson reportedly had disagreements, and Smith allegedly stopped allowing Wilson to change plays at the line of scrimmage.
Wilson had some good moments in Pittsburgh, but Rodgers seems to be a clear upgrade. His arm talent allows the Steelers to do things they just couldn’t do last year, and Arthur Smith’s offense looks much more explosive as a result.
He didn’t have it easy against the Jets either. Smith’s offense works best when he can establish the run, which Pittsburgh could not do Sunday. Yet, he adjusted well despite trailing for most of the game with a mostly one-dimensional unit. Rodgers took some hits, but Smith did a good job moving him around the pocket. Twice, he had Rodgers roll to his right and find Ben Skowronek and Calvin Austin III. That play call worked for a touchdown on two separate occasions.
We expected the offense to struggle out of the gate, and the defense to hold strong. Ironically, the opposite was true on Sunday. While there are things to clean up, Smith does deserve a lot of credit for managing his offense in a 34-32 Steelers win.
Recommended for you