ClutchPoints
The Pittsburgh Steelers were no match for the Houston Texans when they dropped the Wild Card game in overwhelming fashion. Pittsburgh was unable to deliver any kind of threat on the offensive end, and it’s clear that multiple moves will have to be made in the offseason if the team is going to return to the playoffs next year and perform in a way that will allow the team to have a legitimate chance of advancing once they get to the postseason.
The Steelers will no longe be a reflection of head coach Mike Tomlin. He stepped down from his post about 24 hours after the loss and the team will have a new leader.
They may or may not have a new quarterback since Aaron Rodgers is 42 years old and he has slowed dramatically. He can still be effective throwing the ball, but he no longer has the ability to buy time in the pocket and he can’t be counted on to escape the pass rush.
That means the Steelers will go through a transition this offseason and figure out a new direction. That does not necessarily mean the team will endure a losing season as the organization goes through major changes. If general manager Omar Khan and player personnel vice president Dan Rooney Jr. make the right choices, the Steelers can once again contend in the AFC North and become a playoff team.
The Steelers were consistent winners under Tomlin, but they have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season. The Steelers have 6 Super Bowl titles to their credit, and they would like to get back to putting a dominant team on the field. The right free-agent moves could help them.
The Steelers may have won the AFC North with a 10-7 record, but the offense struggled most of the season. The team needed a solid contribution from the ground attack, but Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell did not get enough support from the offensive line to make more than occasional contributions.
The Steelers ranked 25th in offense with an average of 305.6 yards per game. The running game averaged just 103.3 yards per game, and opponents knew that big plays were going to be few and far between.
The acquisition of an anchor on the offensive line like Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum could go a long way to giving the Steelers a much more productive offensive front. Linderbaum has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last 3 seasons and he provides a powerful presence as well as leadership from one of the most important positions on the offensive line.
Linderbaum can not only open holes on the interior for the running game, he can also provide security for the quarterback because the interior pass rush is going to be stopped in its tracks on a majority of the snaps.
While Warren and Gainwell...
