Matt Gajtka's piece on the pace of the Steelers' offense a few weeks ago was more than timely. It addressed the problem that came from the team's play selection.
Ben Roethlisberger was throwing often earlier in the season, reaching 44 attempts or higher four times in his first eight games. While it makes sense to keep the ball in the hands of the offense's leader and oldest contributor, the results led to more incomplete passes and less time with the ball, placing the defense on the field for longer periods of time.
That's why Matt's piece was on the money, as the style of offense had a high-risk/high-reward balance to it. Sometimes you could get explosive performances like how the team performed against the Redskins, Chiefs and Jets, but also put your team in more difficult situations like it did with the Eagles, Dolphins and Ravens games.
So what's the difference?
The obvious answer would be the increase in running the ball, which the Steelers have done more so in their past three games. Each of those three games featured Le'Veon Bell carrying the ball more often than any of his games from earlier in the season.
But that's not the only thing that's changed. It's also the method of attacking through the air and the increase in quick-reads and more guaranteed passes for Roethlisberger that have increased. This helps take the pressure off Roethlisberger and removed some of his inconsistency from earlier this season.
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