PITTSBURGH -- After earning their first road victory of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the chance to set the schedule on fire. Two straight wins improved their record to 4-2, and an international trip to Paris, France, can help them earn their fifth win of the 2026 campaign.
In order to get the victory, the Steelers have to improve in several key areas. No area is more important than getting better results on third down. Head coach Mike McCarthy said so himself during his weekly press conference. After his offense has started the season converting on just 25 of 76 third-down opportunities, McCarthy discussed the team's struggles to extend drives.
"Boy, we left some out there," he admitted. "We have to convert on third downs. I think it puts us in a different level offensively. You know, you have about four, five sets of downs that we left out there yesterday and still had a lot of opportunities."
As McCarthy continues to establish this offense's identity, he has to rely on his best players on third down. That means a switch in play calling and a focus on running back Jaylen Warren on any third down with less than six yards to gain.
Get the Ball to Your Playmakers
McCarthy has been consistent with one message over the past few weeks, and that's his belief in running back Jaylen Warren. In back-to-back weeks, he's referred to Warren as the offense's "featured player" and "one of the hottest" backs in the NFL right now.
But Warren wasn't a featured player when third down arrived. In the first half of Week 6, the Steelers attempted to get him the ball once on third down. That attempt was an incomplete pass to Warren on a third-and-short.
In the second half, the Steelers finally found Warren on a third down, and it was a successful play. Warren picked up 16 yards on the dump-off pass from Aaron Rodgers, putting the Steelers in the red zone and helping them put three more points on the board in their fourth quarter comeback.
Moving forward, running the ball in that scenario is a focus.
"Definitely want to get the ball ran more," McCarthy said. "That's clearly a focus. But, yeah, third down - it's happened numerous weeks. And so we've got to do a better job there."
Goal Line Blunder
One situation where the Steelers absolutely have to run the ball on third down is near the goal line. The Steelers had a golden opportunity after cornerback Jamel Dean intercepted Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels and returned it inside the 5-yard line.
The Steelers passed twice in three plays, separated by a handoff to Warren that went for two yards. That was their only positive play of that series.
On third down, with one yard to gain for the score, Rodgers opted for a low-probability pass attempt to DK Metcalf. The pass was incomplete, stopping the clock and giving the Bucs a chance to tie the game in the final moments.
The Steelers should have given the ball to Warren on third down and trusted their best back and offensive player to get the job done.
And that, in a nutshell, is what McCarthy needs to do more. In those tough third down play calls, he has to rely on Warren and see what happens. How else are they going to improve their frustrating third down results?
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