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The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is coming off arguably its best game of the season from Week 15, but offensive coordinator Matt Canada may still be feeling the heat.
In front of the media on December 22, Canada appeared to get defensive about a question regarding the number of plays in his playbook.
“We don’t run out of plays. I don’t think I have,” Canada said, per NFL transcripts. “Somebody statistical would have to check, but I don’t think so.”
That response came from a reporter asking whether Canada was close to running out of plays at the end of the 21-play, 91-yard drive against the Carolina Panthers on December 18. It was the longest possession in the NFL this season, and the most plays on a single drive in the NFL since 2007.
Steelers Historic Drive Against Panthers
The Steelers began the second half on their 24-16 victory against the Panthers with their 21-play possession that last nearly 12 minutes. At the conclusion of the drive, the Steelers had possessed the ball for nearly as long as the Panthers had in the first half.
It was an amazing drive from many angles, particularly when considering Canada’s ability to keep calling different plays to keep the Panthers defense off balance until the Steelers scored a touchdown.
In all honestly, the drive is probably the best accomplishment by Canada since he became Steelers offensive coordinator in 2021. Perhaps that was why he didn’t seem to appreciate the question about whether he was close to running out of plays.
“In the heat of the game, to be honest with you, you’re just calling it,” Canada told the media, per NFL transcripts. “You’re just going through the game. The drive’s going on and going on, then we scored, and you look up, and it’s like there’s three-and-a-half minutes or 3:15 left in the quarter.
“So, it just kind of happened.”
In both time of possession and number of plays, the Steelers drive to begin the second half against the Panthers was Pittsburgh’s longest drive in the last 45 seasons.
Previous Criticism for Canada’s Playbook
The number of plays in Canada’s playbook has been a point of criticism for the Steelers offensive coordinator before, so that could also be why he was a little touchy on the subject this week. Pittsburgh fans have criticized Canada since last year for the repetitiveness with his play-calling.
The Steelers offensive coordinator has also received indirect criticism outside of Pittsburgh. Indianapolis Colts defensive players called out Canada during the Steelers-Colts Monday night matchup in Week 12 for the lack of variety in the Pittsburgh offensive play-calling.
A television microphone from ESPN during the game was able to capture a Colts defender yelling, “it’s the same plays” after an Anthony McFarland run.
The Steelers have won four of their last six games since the bye week. The offense has made many improvements since then. Pittsburgh is averaging nearly 50 more rushing yards per game in the past six contests than it did in the first eight weeks of the season.
Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has also not thrown an interception since the bye week.
Canada orchestrated the 21-play and almost 12-minute drive with backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky. That should make the long drive even more impressive.
It’s this type of improvement that could cause the Steelers to bring Canada back next year. But if he returns, the Pittsburgh offense will need to keep getting better in order for Canada to completely silence his critics.
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