Steelers need more from passing game

Losses in four of the past six games have cost the Pittsburgh Steelers sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Once ahead comfortably in the division, the Steelers take a 6-5 record into their game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

The defense’s issues have been well-documented. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers believes the offense has been just as culpable and not only during the past month and a half.

“The preparation is there. It’s the execution,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “I wouldn’t say it’s been up and down the past six weeks. This has been the entire season. We’ve been just a little off on some of the details. If we tighten that thing up, all 11 of us, I expect us to play really well.”

The Steelers, of course, haven’t played well since that 4-1 start. They haven’t won consecutive games since they defeated Cleveland in October for a third win in a row.

A 31-28 defeat to the Chicago Bears last Sunday wiped out any margin for error the Steelers had in the division race, and the offensive deficiencies were on display while Rodgers stood on the sideline with a left wrist fracture. Mason Rudolph turned the ball over twice and had difficulty finding open targets downfield and over the middle.

Rodgers did not practice Wednesday because of his injury, and it isn’t a certainty he will return to the lineup Sunday against Buffalo in a game where it would helpful for the Steelers to have the four-time NFL MVP’s experience on the field.

“We have to be on the details,” Rodgers said. “It’s the same thing we’ve been talking about all year. There are just too many times when we haven’t been able to survive downs. There is a mental error or missed assignment, and we’re not able to survive the down and get through it with an incompletion, a zero yard gain or a dump-off that keeps us in front of the sticks. We have to do a better job of that.”

Even when Rodgers was in the lineup, the Steelers didn’t display consistency on offense. The passing game is averaging 195.1 yards, a slight increase from last season when the Steelers were No. 27 with 192 passing yards. The Steelers have averaged fewer than 5 yards per pass attempt in three of their past four games.

DK Metcalf, the team’s top receiving threat, has 42 catches for 573 yards and five touchdowns. He is tied for No. 44 in the NFL in receptions, and his yardage total ranks No. 30.

Metcalf had just five catches for 22 yards against the Bears.

“We can’t control any of the plays being called. All we can do is run our routes to the best of our abilities and just hopefully the balls finds us,” Metcalf said. “If not, if we don’t get the ball, just block for our teammates because that’s how explosives get started.”

The Steelers had just one pass play that exceeded 20 yards — a 21-yard completion to Ben Skowronek in the first half. Rudolph attempted to hit Metcalf with a deep ball on the second offensive play, but the pass was intercepted. On another play, he threw deep and out of bounds on a pass intended for Roman Wilson.

“There were a couple options to DK over the middle on crossing routes,” Rudolph said. “We had one-on-one on outside routes, and I chose to go with the deep-ball opportunity. When you’ve got one-on-one matchups with guys like Roman and Calvin (Austin), you take it. Looking back, I wish I would have targeted DK over the middle more, but you learn from those and move on.”

On one of the few times he completed a pass over the middle, Rudolph found Pat Freiermuth for a 3-yard touchdown. Freiermuth is another example of a player whose role has been diminished in the offense. He finished with three catches for 19 yards and has just 26 catches for 298 yards on the season.

“He’s a special player. He’s great over the middle, too,” Rudolph said. “That’s where he’s always at his best. He’s got a good feel and has good spatial awareness. We absolutely have to get him more involved.”

Some chunk pass plays over the middle to other eligible pass catchers wouldn’t hurt the Steelers offense, either.

“You’re always trying to do that,” Rudolph said. “Runand- catch opportunities are highlighted over the middle of the field. We’re not going to force anything, but we have to do a better job of distributing the ball to our playmakers across the field. That’s where the yards after the catch happen.”