In this week’s “3-&-Out” column, we look at how Omar Khan’s personnel moves this past year paid huge dividends in Pittsburgh’s 27-14 win over the Browns.

Thank you, Omar!

Every time you looked up on Sunday, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers who had been signed in the past year was making a big play.

There was Van Jefferson, signed last off-season as a free agent, catching a touchdown pass. Throwing that pass was Russell Wilson, another free agent signee who has emerged as the unquestioned leader of Pittsburgh’s offense. Wide receivers Scotty Miller and Mike Williams, the former signed back in May, the latter for whom the Steelers traded a few weeks ago, both had big catches to extend drives in the fourth quarter. On defense, DeShon Elliott and Patrick Queen led the team with 13 and 10 tackles, respectively. Both were free agent signees last spring. On special teams, Ben Skowronek, signed to the practice squad in August, recovered a punt with just over two minutes to play to salt the game away. Punting that football was Corliss Waitman, signed in September after an injury to Cam Johnston. Waitman averaged a whopping 52.3 yards on six punts for the day.

There is one other individual who should be mentioned when recognizing the contributions of these first-year Steelers, and that is the man who brought them to Pittsburgh. It must have been a gratifying day for general manager Omar Khan, the former cap wizard turned G.M. who has largely rebuilt this roster since taking the reins in 2022. Khan has broken tradition in Pittsburgh by taking an aggressive approach in free agency, and many of his signings the past two off-seasons are now paying dividends. In addition to the players mentioned above, guys like Isaac Seumalo, Larry Ogunjobi, Elandon Roberts and Donte Jackson, all of whom were acquired by Khan, have become important contributors for the Steelers. Khan has also added significant talent in the last several drafts.

Khan’s penchant for acquiring talent by any means necessary has given life to a roster that was stale and aging when he took over. As a result, the Steelers are now as deep and talented as they’ve been in years and are well-positioned to make a serious playoff run. Thank you, Omar!

Neutering Myles

One of the biggest differences between Sunday’s game and the one two weeks ago in Cleveland was the absence of splash plays from Myles Garrett. Garrett was a force in that first game, registering three sacks and applying constant pressure to Russell Wilson. On Sunday, he was largely a non-factor. Garrett did collect a sack but it came late in the contest on a play where he was blocked into Wilson as Wilson fled the pocket. During the guts of the game, Garrett went unnoticed.

What changed? Two things, predominantly. First, the Steelers committed to helping on Garrett, something they did not do in that first contest. Rather than allow their offensive linemen to operate one-on-one, they chipped him on almost every passing play with a running back or tight end. They slid their protection in Garrett’s direction at times, too, which reduced the amount of space in which he had to operate.

Secondly, the Steelers made Garrett the focus of their read-option game. This means that rather than block him at times, they left him unblocked and had Wilson read him. Wilson fooled Garrett on a zone-read play in the first half where, on 3rd-and-1, he faked a handoff to Najee Harris then pulled the ball and escaped to the edge when Garrett pursued Harris. The Steelers did it again in the 3rd quarter, with Wilson pulling the ball and this time tossing it to Van Jefferson for a touchdown on a beautifully designed RPO:

Beautifully designed RPO to Van Jefferson for the TD. Russ has four options on this play — hand the ball off, run it himself, throw the flat route or throw the stick. Just need to pick the option that makes the defense wrong. Really well done! 20-7, PIT. pic.twitter.com/0Q6oNxTNUa

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) December 8, 2024

Neutralizing Garrett allowed Wilson to operate comfortably from the pocket. While Pittsburgh didn’t roll up massive numbers on offense, they were efficient enough to get the job done.

The Other Guys

Besides being one of my favorite Will Farrell movies, “The Other Guys” is an appropriate title for the Pittsburgh receiving corps minus George Pickens. They are a relatively obscure bunch, whose production so far this season justifies their obscurity.

It was not surprising, then, that the announcement just prior to kickoff that Pickens would not play due to a hamstring injury created concerns. Where would the Steelers turn for production in the passing game? Pickens had more than twice as many catches and targets as any other receiver on the roster. Would anyone step up in his absence and fill that void?

Indeed they would.

While the numbers were far from prolific, “The Other Guys” did quite well. Jefferson, Williams, Miller and Calvin Austin III combined for eight catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, with their key contributions coming in clutch moments. Jefferson caught the touchdown shown above to give Pittsburgh a two-score lead in the third quarter, and Miller and Williams made big 3rd-down catches to extend drives in the fourth. Williams’s catch was particularly impressive, as he opened his hips to a ball thrown over his back shoulder and made a pretty one-handed grab for a 22-yard gain:

Freiermuth TD set up by a huge 3rd-and-6 conversion on a back-shoulder throw to Mike Williams. Great to see the Steelers plug Williams into that role with Pickens out. He’s a matchup problem on the outside. 27-7, PIT! pic.twitter.com/zhidisDaAF

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) December 8, 2024

Williams caught the game-winning touchdown against Washington just days after being acquired but had not had a single ball thrown his way in the three weeks since, leading many to wonder when he would get more involved in the offense. With Pickens out, Williams did just that. His three receptions for 36 yards won’t pop out on the stat sheet, but he and the rest of “The Other Guys” gave the Steelers much-needed options on a day where finding them in the passing game was challenging.

And Out…

One of the keys to Pittsburgh’s victory was its ability to capitalize in plus territory. The Steelers crossed midfield six times on Sunday and got points on five of those drives (three touchdowns, two field goals). By contrast, the Browns crossed midfield seven times but scored just twice. Their other five possessions ended in two missed two field goals, two turnovers and a turnover on downs. Hopefully this will start a trend for the Steelers, as capitalizing on their plus-territory opportunities could be a key to success in the post-season.

Follow me on Twitter @KTSmithFFSN.