The Pittsburgh Steelers have had problems with their most important scoreboard for several seasons. Former OC Matt Canada used to say in press conferences, “We have to score more points.” So far in 2024, the addition of OC Arthur Smith has done just that, posting a 6-2 record.
Today we’ll be looking at NFL offensive points per game by season since 2019 with the goal of seeing how Pittsburgh and Smith fared in their coaching stops as OC or HC.
Below is a visual of points per game (Pts/G).
You can immediately see that 2024 is the best scoring record for Pittsburgh since 2020 and the second best scoring record for the Steelers since 2019. This season, that number is 23.4 points/G and ranks 14th in 2024.
This is Smith’s strongest mark since his time as Tennessee’s OC, with 25.1 points in 2019 and 30.7 points in 2020. The latter had the seventh best performance out of the 192 teams that qualified during the period, and remained above average in 2019.
Before acquiring Smith, the Steelers averaged just 17.9 points/G in 2023 (T-27th). This was his worst performance in that span, even compared to his injury-plagued 2019 season (18.1, 28th place). In comparison, the 2024 season thankfully feels much better.
In a similar study this offseason, I found that after a below-average performance as the Falcons’ HC (2021-23), returning as OC in Pittsburgh with a more capable roster was a good bet for Smith and I expected it to lead to a better performance for the Black & Gold. .
More specifically, here are the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers point totals by week and game result:
Week 1: 18, W.
Week 2: 13, W.
Week 3: 20, W.
Week 4: 24, L.
Week 5: 17, L.
Week 6: 32, W.
Week 7: 37, W.
Week 8: 26, W.
They got off to a slow start to the season, but their defense allowed no more than 10 points in each game, and they still won three straight. Since then, the Steelers have scored 24 or more points in four of their five games, with the exception of a 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.
The last three games have been refreshed, with more time under coach Smith, including two games of 30 or more, giving them their highest points in 2024. This feels like virtually the best showing on grass when compared to last year’s 17.9 points/G.
Thankfully, we’ve seen Smith’s impact come to fruition, especially recently, and we’re encouraged by the possibility of an even higher cap going forward.
Below is a conditional table of league-wide Pts/G numbers since 2019. Smith’s team is in bold.
Another clear indication of all of Smith’s best performances as OC at Tennessee and thus far in Pittsburgh. Although this season has the lowest Pts/G of the previous three seasons, there is room for optimism regarding Smith’s resume and the number of plays left for the Steelers in 2024. will be improved.
The flip side of that is that the rest of the schedule will be tougher, and the low-scoring games could become even tighter. Especially with all the remaining division games and those matches tend to happen in a Rockfight format.
Even if Pittsburgh is able to beat the league average of 22.8 at the deadline, as they are heading into the bye week (23.4), combined with their 14.9 points per G on defense, they will rack up more wins the rest of the year. That should bode well, as this is the second-best number in the NFL.
