Steelers fans chant ‘Fire Canada’ as pressure mounts on OC
Steelers fans, we give you your offensive stars — Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt. Yes, these two both play defense. Yet they collectively scored more touchdowns than their offensive teammates.
No wonder the chants of “Fire Canada” swelled up from the stands of Acrisure Stadium as frustrated, angry fans voiced their disapproval of what was happening on the field. Of course, Matt Canada is Mike Tomlin’s embattled offensive coordinator. And as per tradition, the coordinator receives the blame when the offense fares so poorly. Canada is in this third season as OC.
Yes, the Steelers celebrated their dramatic, 26-22, win over the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. But the winning touchdown came from Watt, who scooped up a Deshaun Watson fumble and raced 17 yards to the end zone with 7 minutes to play. Smith and Watt literally were defensive scoring bookends. Highsmith scored Pittsburgh’s first touchdown, a 30-yard pick six after a deflected pass. That came on the opening play of the game. Then came Watt.
TJ Watt still was soaking in the results when he answered reporters’ questions about the game. He also broke the Steelers team record for sacks. And he offered a ton of credit to his fellow defenders.
“I think that’s what we talk about is creating splash as a defense,” Watt told reporters “Alex Highsmith played his absolute tail off tonight. Guys inside got incredible pressure. Larry O (Ogunjobi) had a great game.”
Of course, it was Highsmith’s strip sack that set up Watt’s touchdowns. So give him the unofficial assist. And maybe the guys knew they needed to step after losing Cam Heyward to a groin injury last week.
As for the offense, here’s their most spectacular play. It was Kenny Pickett to George Pickens.
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It’s the fifth time in Kenny Pickett’s last seven starts that the offense failed to score more than one touchdown. If you take a broader look, it’s the 15th time in his last 36 games that a Matt Canada offense produced only one touchdown.
And that touchdown Monday night was a spectacular one. Here’s a reminder:
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stated the obvious Monday night.
“We didn’t get the type of fluidity we wanted early, but I like the fight,” Tomlin said. “A big play to the pick-six was a nice catalyst, but after that, it took us a while to gain rhythm. We gave up another big run. And so we’ve got some things to work on. It’s cool to work on it with the win.”
The Steelers will experience their first road game of the season when they travel to Las Vegas to play Sunday against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. That’s otherwise known as the site of the Super Bowl.
Maybe Kenny Pickett, whose QB passer rating ranks last in the NFL, can shake out of his funk. The overall offense ranks better than only one team — Cincinnati. The Steelers probably will lean on their disruptive defense for a few more scores.