The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team which has gone from hopeless to hopeful in the course of one week. After Matt Canada’s firing last Tuesday, the Steelers offensive performance vs. the Bengals in Week 12 have fans thinking big for the remaining slate of regular season games.

But if you’re like me, you are curious as to what is the difference between the Matt Canada offense and the Eddie Faulkner / Mike Sullivan offense.

According to Faukner, it’s all in the details.

“We scheduled meetings. Did some things a little bit different to make sure we had total clarity on things.” Faulkner told the media this week. “That’s really it. It wasn’t much different than that. We just really, really honed in on the details. I’ve got to say the offensive staff was incredible, man.

“Those guys were awesome. I could say them by name. You know who they are. They were awesome. I’m talking about everybody in that room. Everybody put their hand in the pile. Everybody had something to do with the process of preparation for that game. I’m just really proud of that.

“That was awesome. It was fun.” Faulkner said.

Many fans were wondering if the dual job approach of Faulkner and Sullivan could somehow cause issues on the sideline during the game. What if one coach wants a specific play, and the other objects? While it’s only been one week, the Steelers haven’t had that issue yet. In fact, Faulkner said the job Sullivan did in calling plays was tremendous.

“It was fantastic.” said Faulkner of his coaching counterpart. “It couldn’t have been better. If I was over there telling Sully(Mike Sullivan), hey, let’s do this, he was right on board with it. It wasn’t like any sort of pushback. It was awesome.

“Sully called a great game. Sully was awesome in that game. I’m just really excited about the trajectory and what’s going on.”

Despite the 400+ yards of offense, the biggest thing missing from the offense is their ability to score points. Yardage is great, but when you only put up 16 points during the process it leaves big questions. Faulkner said the devil is in the details, as it pertains to the offense putting up more touchdowns than field goals.

“We just keep hammering away. I think I said last week about the details and ironing those out. I think it will come with that. I think the guys are all in on understanding. I know the points weren’t what we wanted, but the success we had last week really gave me a good stage to be able to coach, like sink the hook in and get the guys to buy in and be like, okay, let’s go.

“It just made this week easier in preparation. From that standpoint, I wouldn’t expect anything for us to continue to be on a steep trajectory moving forward.”

The Steelers finished last game 1-for-4 in the red-zone, and Faulkner was adamant the issues remain in the preparation and details, not so much on the execution from his players.

“We’ve got to keep getting close to those details.” Faulkner added. “When you get down in the tight red, you got 22 grown men in that tight space, the details are so much more intensified in those moments. That’s what we’re going to keep doing.”

If you couldn’t tell, Faulkner, and his coaching staff, are all-in on the detailed-driven approach to game planning. This can lend itself to a detailed approach to execution, which has proven to work throughout the years in the NFL.

“The way that we go about our business is naturally going to kind of be the case. When you really want to start to get detailed and you’re meeting in small groups, you may have the O-line and tight ends and running backs together and you may have the receivers and quarterbacks together.

“When I’m talking about the details and kind of ironing things out, that’s the thing we’re focusing on, is scheduling meetings so all parties can be involved to get the details that’s in it.

“There’s a coordination effort going fluidly through all positions without the title anyway. So that’s just how it has to kind of happen for the whole group to be on the same page.”

Is this a damning statement about Matt Canada’s time in Pittsburgh, some will read it that way, but Faulkner is focused on the next game. In this case, the Arizona Cardinals. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they press on throughout the regular season.