The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is a very fragile unit. In other words, they can’t sustain negative plays and be able to get themselves back from the hole they dug themselves.

Negativity can come in the form of a penalty, a blown assignment or a botched play. Doesn’t matter, and the first series of the Week 7 game vs. the Los Angeles Rams is the perfect example.

Play 1: Najee Harris run for 8 yards
Play 2: Sack, loss of almost 8 yards
Play 3: Incomplete pass
Play 4: Punt

The Steelers went from a 2nd an 2, to a 3-and-out. That’s the fragility of the Steelers offense at the current state, and it is also something which needs to be rectified before the Jacksonville Jaguars invade Acrisure Stadium Sunday.

“I think we hurt ourselves a little bit with penalties early in this game for sure, set ourselves back behind the chain with some negative plays,” Kenny Pickett said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex while referring to the team’s win last Sunday vs. the Rams.

“We didn’t do that – or we limited it a little bit – in the second half. We still had some but not as crucial as the ones we had I think in the first half.”

The Steelers know what they need to avoid, but the question is can they actually go out and not have those horrible plays?

“It’s a guy here, or there a penalty or a sack or a negative run that puts you behind the chains and you get out of those plays,” Pickett said of the script the Steelers deploy the start a game. “You’re obviously not going to stay on script. We’re behind the chains. So that’s what we’re hunting. Just keep the positive plays we get, a three- or two-yard run. It’s okay we’re staying on schedule. Just keep moving that way.”

A lot of keeping the offense on schedule is to know when to take the risks, from a play calling standpoint, and when to wait for those situations.

“I think there’s some things that you kind of wait for situations to have that perfect call,” Pickett said. “You don’t want to leave the stadium without calling it but you also want to hopefully put yourself in the most advantageous look to get it, which we were able to do in that fourth quarter. So it’s all about timing with those plays and how we want to call them.”

Can the Steelers get the job done? They’ll need to have an offense more reminiscent of the 4th quarter offense last week, and less like the dumpster fire fans saw earlier in the season. Either way, be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers.