Jan 13, 2023 5 min read

As is typically the case, many Steelers fans want offensive coordinator Matt Canada replaced. Of course, they wanted him replaced after last season, just like they wanted Randy Fichtner, Todd Haley, Bruce Arians and, well, you get the idea.

There is no position in professional sports in Pittsburgh that is more highly scrutinized than offensive coordinator of the Steelers.

Everyone thinks the Steelers should have run when they passed and passed when they should have run. Calling and designing an offense in the NFL is that easy. It certainly is when they’ve played the Madden video game.

That said, the Steelers averaged 18.1 points per game this season, which ranked 26th in the NFL. Not great.

But realize much of that was established in the first half of the season, when the Steelers averaged 15.0 points per game. Over the final nine games of the season, they averaged 20.9 points.

That might not sound like much, but realize that in a season in which not one team averaged 30 or more points, averaging 21 per game would have placed the Steelers 18th in scoring over the course of the season.

Again, that’s not ideal, but when you consider the Steelers were starting a rookie at quarterback in 12 of their 17 games, it’s not all that bad. Oh, and it was good enough to go 7-2 in the second half of the season.

That’s why it’s not cut-and-dried that Mike Tomlin will replace Canada.

Besides, the way the Steelers played offensively was the way the Steelers wanted them to play: Run the ball. Shorten the game. Play good defense.

“What you saw from us was what was appropriate, particularly over the second half of the year, in an effort to engineer victory,” Tomlin said. “It’s our job as coaches to do what’s required to engineer victory, particularly over the latter half of the year, and we did what we did to engineer victory.”

With Canada having another season remaining on his contract and Pickett entering his second season, Tomlin might very well give him another season to show continued improvement while also not forcing Pickett to learn a new offense.

• It sounds like a good subject for the hot-take artists on the local sports talk radio shows, but the Steelers wouldn’t exactly save a lot against their 2023 salary cap by trading Diontae Johnson.

Johnson’s 2023 salary is only $8 million. But the signing bonus the Steelers gave him last season, when he signed a two-year, $36.7-million contract extension, was $17.5 million.

That means trading Johnson would save the Steelers only $4.6 million. And it would create a big hole at wide receiver.

The Steelers knew what they were doing when they signed Johnson to his new contract. They did so because they wanted him on the team.

Johnson had a frustrating season. But he’s still a valuable piece of the puzzle. And the last I checked, teams play more than one wide receiver at a time – unless you’re the Baltimore Ravens.

This week’s games

Dolphins (plus 13) at Bills: The Dolphins beat the Bills in Miami way back in September. These two teams met again in Buffalo in December, and the Bills edged the Dolphins, 32-29. But Skylar Thompson wasn’t starting at QB in that game. Expect the Bills to be very emotional with safety Damar Hamlin now out of the hospital and expected to be at this game. The Bills will ride that wave of emotion – and take advantage of sub-par quarterback play from Miami – to win this game in a rout. Take the Bills, 34-10

Giants (plus 3) at Vikings: Many are pointing to the Vikings as a potential upset victim in the first round. And while that could certainly be the case – after all, they went 5-3 down the stretch – that overlooks the fact the Giants went 3-6-1 in their final nine games. These two teams met Dec. 24 in Minnesota, with the Vikings winning, 27-24. It should be another close game, but we’ll ride with the home team here. The Vikings went 3-2 against playoff teams. The Giants were 2-6 in similar games, the worst record of any team in the NFC field. Take the Vikings, 24-20

Ravens (plus 8½) at Bengals: If quarterback Lamar Jackson were playing for the Ravens, the line would be four or five points. He isn’t – and might never play for the Ravens again. In five games without Jackson, the Ravens failed to score more than 17 points. The Bengals enter this game having won eight in a row. They should make it nine in a row. The spread is pretty big in a game between division rivals, but if the Bengals have a chance to blow the Ravens out, then they’ll do so. There’s some bad blood between these two teams. Take the Bengals, 27-13

Cowboys (minus 2½) at Buccaneers: An interesting matchup between a pair of teams many felt would be better than they have been in 2022. The Bucs won a terrible NFC South while the Cowboys had to settle for being a wild card. Dallas went 4-3 against playoff teams while the Bucs were 2-4. Tom Brady is 7-0 in his career against the Cowboys, but that changes this time -if Dak Prescott does not turn the ball over. Despite missing five games, Prescott led the NFL with 15 interceptions. Take the Cowboys, 23-20

Last Week: 4-1 ATS; 3-2 straight up.

Overall: 44-40-5 ATS; 58-31 straight up.