Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is probably best known for his ability to have a successful offense without elite quarterback play.
Smith did that in his two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, leaning on an elite offensive line and Derrick Henry at running back to take the Titans to the AFC Championship Game and a top-five offense in the league, despite only having Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. That’s what got him a job as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and three years later, when that experiment failed, a second chance as an offensive coordinator with the Steelers.
The Steelers were — and remain, for now — stuck in quarterback purgatory, but had a strong defense and the makings of a rushing attack. They hired Smith because, in part, of his history of having success without elite quarterback play, along with rushing game chops that preceded his time as an OC, having come up as an offensive line and tight ends coach.
But maybe Smith’s ability to elevate the play of quarterbacks is being overlooked just a bit.
This weekend, the New York Jets benched former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields amid a fall to 0-7 in a home loss to the Carolina Panthers. The New York Giants had previously benched Russell Wilson.
This season, Wilson and Fields are a combined 0-9 as starting quarterbacks. Last year with the Steelers, they were 10-7. Of course, lots goes into that win-loss record beyond just the play of the quarterbacks. But when you dig deeper, you’ll find that their play matches the trend.
In his three seasons as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears, Fields had an 82.3 quarterback rating, a 31.4 QBR and a 4.77 adjusted net yards per attempt. Last year with the Steelers, he had a 93.3 rating, 47.4 QBR and 5.87 ANY/A — all career highs. This year in New York, he’s back down to a 91.1 rating, 36.5 QBR and 4.82 ANY/A.
Before Wilson joined the Steelers, he played for two seasons in Denver, where he maintained a 90.9 rating, 38.7 QBR and 5.78 ANY/A. In Pittsburgh with Smith last year, he had a 95.6 rating, 47.9 QBR and 6.39 ANY/A. With the Giants in 2025? A 78.2 rating, 32.1 QBR and 5.48 ANY/A.
Aaron Rodgers has also enjoyed a bump playing for Smith. Over his final season in Green Bay and two seasons with the Jets, Rodgers had a 90.7 rating, 41.3 QBR and 5.89 ANY/A. So far in 2025 with the Steelers, he has a 105.0 rating, 49.0 QBR and 6.97 ANY/A.
It’s the same story with Tannehill, who was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins and had an 11-year NFL career. His two best seasons of pass rating, QBR and ANY/A were the two years Smith was his coordinator with the Titans.
Of the players Smith had at quarterback when he was the head coach in Atlanta, Matt Ryan was one year from retirement, and Marcus Mariota, Desmond...
