A look at the Steelers' 2014 goal line offense

It’s not a secret the Steelers had their issues in the red zone in 2014. They finished the season ranked 18th in the league in red-zone touchdown percentage, scoring touchdowns on 53 percent of their trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

For an offense that gained more yards than any other team in the NFL except for the Saints, it’s obvious offensive coordinator Todd Haley and his staff will be searching for answers this offseason on ways to improve their scoring in the red zone.

The Steelers struggled especially when they got inside their opponent’s 10-yard line. They ran 82 plays from inside the opponent’s 10-yard line and scored touchdowns 20 times, or on 24 percent of their snaps inside the 10.

There are no official statistics for the other 31 teams when it comes to scoring inside the 10, but the Steelers had a lot of issues the closer they got to the end zone. I took a look at all 82 plays inside the 10 this season and charted every one of them below.

Here are some useful notes from the research/film study I did on the Steelers’ offense inside the 10:

*Of the 82 plays the Steelers ran, 25 were running plays. Of those 25 runs, four were for negative yards and two were for no gain. So, 25 percent of the running plays the tried were unsuccessful. They scored six rushing touchdowns from inside the 10.

*The Steelers scored on 5 of their 10 plays from the 1-yard line, including four of their final five in the final six games.

*The top playmakers inside the 10 were receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell. That’s not a surprise. Each scored six touchdowns inside the 10. Brown’s six came on touchdown passes. Bell rushed for four touchdowns inside the 10 and caught two passes for his other scores. The other players to score inside the 10 were Heath Miller (2), Martavis Bryant (2), Lance Moore (1) and Michael Palmer (1).

*The Steelers struggled mightily with their goal line offense early in the season, but it steadily improved throughout the season. They especially struggled to run the ball when they got inside the 10. They had just six rushing touchdowns inside the 10 all season and only two of those came in the first 10 games of the season, both from LeGarrette Blount. Bell did not score on a rush inside the 10 until the 11th game of the season against the Titans.

The Steelers could certainly use a good goal line back in the mold of Blount next season, but it might not matter unless the line makes some adjustments and improves their blocking when they get down there. Blount was effective at times early in the season in goal line situations, but even big backs can’t get going if defensive tackles are penetrating into the backfield.

*In the first four games of the season the Steelers had 24 snaps from inside the 10. They scored five touchdowns and settled for four field goals. All five touchdowns came between the 6- and 9-yard line. In five snaps from inside the 5 the Steelers did not score in the first four games. Three of the plays inside the 5 were running plays. They gained a total of minus-3 yards. There was one no gain, a 3-yard loss and a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty.

This was by far the worst four-game stretch of the season for the goal line offense. The touchdown rate on plays inside the 10 was 20.8 percent in the first four games.

*The Steelers were a much better offense overall once Bryant was inserted into the lineup and he seemed to have a big effect on the goal line offense. Bryant’s first NFL game was against Houston in Week 7. From Week 7 through Week 9 the Steelers had 10 plays inside the 10 and scored six touchdowns, including two from Bryant against the Colts in Week 8. But don’t overlook how the presence of a tall receiver on the goal line changed the way teams defended the Steelers in the red zone.

The Steelers obviously didn’t maintain that pace over the final seven games, especially against the Jets, but it was a stark improvement over the first six games. That’s something to build on for next season.

*We all saw how important red-zone offense was in the Super Bowl. The Patriots were efficient in the red zone while the Seahawks struggled, kicking a field goal and throwing the interception from the 1 with 20 seconds to go.

A couple of things to take away from this study:

1) It’s hard to score near the goal line, no matter what yard line.

2) The Steelers must improve their goal line offense in 2015 because it’s going to be hard to duplicate the number of big-play touchdowns they scored.

UPDATE: There are stats for inside the 10 that I came across a day late. The Steelers ranked 12th in the league with 20 touchdowns between the 1 and 9 yard line. The Patriots led the league with 31. They were ninth in points with 206, which of course includes touchdowns and field goals. It does not break down how many plays the other teams had just the number of touchdowns they scored and the combined points. 

Here is a look at all 82 for the Steelers plays inside the 10 from last season:

Game 1 Browns

Drive 1

4-yard line – Shotgun, one-back. Roethlisberger hands off to Bell for no gain. Right guard David DeCastro is stalemated at the line of scrimmage by the defensive tackle, which makes Bell hesitate in the hole. That hesitation allows safety Donte Whitner to come in and help the tackle make the tackle.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell for a touchdown that is nullified by a holding penalty on Kelvin Beachum. With Ramon Foster pulling and leading Bell into the hole on the right side, the defensive end collapses down hard and forces Bell to cut back to the left. He finds a crease and scores, but Beachum is clearly holding outside linebacker Paul Kruger.

*The drive later stalls after an incomplete pass and a sack and Shuan Suisham is called on to kick a 36-yard field goal.

Drive 2

7-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center hands off to Blount, who scores. DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert secure the first level by double-teaming the defensive tackle. Heath Miller secures the edge and Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown secure their blocks, which allows Blount easy access to the end zone.

Game 2 Ravens

Drive 1

7-yard line – Second-and 4. Shotgun, empty set. Roethlisberger throws a quick out to Justin Brown at the first-down marker. Brown is tightly covered and the throw misses to the outside.

7-yard line – Third-and-4. Shotgun, one-back. The Steelers have trips with two receivers to the left and one to the right. Antonio Brown comes in motion and takes an inside handoff from Roethlisberger for a 1-yard gain. The timing is off and Brown has to slow down a bit to secure the handoff. The play is relatively well-blocked, but linebacker CJ Mosley runs through the attempted block of Bell and makes the play short of the first down.

*The Steelers settle for a 25-yard field goal.

Game 3 Panthers

Drive 1

9-yard line – First-and-goal. Roethlisberger is under center and throws a quick pass to Justin Brown, who gains 6 yards to the 3.

3-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell for a 3-yard loss. Kelvin Beachum allows defensive tackle Star Lotulelei to penetrate and Lotulelei tackles Bell for the loss. Lotulelei is lined up as a wide 3 technique on the outside shade of left guard Cody Wallace. Beachum is doomed because of the alignment and never comes close to getting his head across to execute the block. And while I’m not sure how Mike Munchak wanted this play blocked, Wallace’s decision to block the linebacker without even extending a hand to help Beachum secure Lotulelei tells me Beachum was expected to make this block on his own. Bottom line: it’s a lot to ask of an offensive lineman to make this block one-on-one. In hindsight, it would have been better to have Beachum execute a cut block or have Wallace double-team Lotulelei before going to the second level for the linebacker.

6-yard line – It’s third-and-goal. Roethlisberger is under center with Bell in the backfield. Roethlisberger takes a three-step drop and completes a pass to Markus Wheaton in the end zone, but Wheaton stepped out of bounds and the touchdown is overturned.

*The Steelers settle for a 24-yard field goal.

Drive 2

7-yard line – The Steelers get a first-and-goal after the Panthers went off side on a field goal attempt. On first-and-goal, Roethlisberger is in the shotgun. He gets the snap and pumps hard to the left side where Wheaton is covered. He pulls it down, eludes a rush and throws a strike to Antonio Brown in the corner of the end zone. It took a great individual play by Roethlisberger and Brown to make this play happen.

Drive 3

8-yard line – Roethlisberger throws quick to Antonio Brown in the flat, and Brown runs to the 1.

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center with a fullback and Blount in the backfield. He runs a play-action pass for tight end Michael Palmer, who is called for pass interference, putting the Steelers back at the 11.

7-yard line – After a Bell 4-yard run, Roethlisberger finds Antonio Brown on a crossing pattern in the end zone for a touchdown.

Drive 4

9-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell for a 1-yard gain.

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center with Will Johnson at fullback and Blount at tailback. Roethlisberger hands off to Blount, who gets a nice kick-out block from Johnson. Blount then runs over safety Thomas DeCoud at the 5-yard line and gets into the end zone for the touchdown.

Game 4 Buccaneers

Drive 1

9-yard line – Roethlisberger is in shotgun and hands off (actually chucks it forward for a pass) to Dri Archer on a jet sweep. The Buccaneers string it out and tackle Archer for a 1-yard gain.

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is in shotgun again and this time fakes a jet sweep to Antonio Brown. He throws to Heath Miller in the flat. Miller had one man to beat for the touchdown, but that man, defensive back Major Wright, tackles Miller for a 1-yard gain.

7-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun again and sends Justin Brown in motion. Brown runs a slant and Roethlisberger rifles a pass to him in the end zone. The ball goes off Brown’s hands for an incomplete pass. This goes down as a drop for Brown, but the pass from Roethlisberger was a bullet.

*The Steelers settled for a Suisham 25-yard field goal.

Drive 2

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick slant to Justin Brown, who gets tackled at the 3-yard line.

3-yard line – A false start on David DeCastro moves the ball back to the 8.

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun. He rolls right and throws a short pass to Bell in the flat. Bell is tacked down by Lavonte David and thrown for a 3-yard loss.

*The Steelers scored a touchdown on the drive, an 11-yard pass to Antonio Brown on the next play.

Drive 3

9-yard line – A Miller touchdown is nullified by a holding penalty on Beachum. A Tampa penalty for unnecessary roughness on Miller keeps the ball at the 9.

9-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell for a 4-yard gain to the 5.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws to Bell over the middle. Bell drops the pass at the 3.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is in motion and sends Miller in motion and throws a quick slant to him in the end zone.

Game 5 Jaguars

Drive 1

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in shotgun and throws quick to Antonio Brown, who is tackled for no gain.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and throws a quick out to Antonio Brown at the pylon. The throw is wide and carries Brown out of bounds.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun. He cannot find an open receiver, scrambles and is sacked by Paul Posluszny for a two-yard loss.

*The Steelers settle for a 24-yard Suisham field goal.

Drive 2

7-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is in the shotgun. He scrambles after DeCastro allows his man to pressure up the middle. A throw to Antonio Brown at the pylon is incomplete.

7-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a slant to Miller, who is tackled at the 1.

1 –yard line – On third-and-goal, Roethlisberger is under center and runs a play-action pass. Reserve tight end Michael Palmer comes across the formation and catches the 1-yard touchdown.

Game 6 Browns

Drive 1

7-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell for a two-yard gain to the 5.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who is met in the hole by safety Donte Whitner and dropped for a two-yard gain.

3-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Blount, who is tackled at the 2. The Steelers don’t get any movement on the right side as Marcus Gilbert is stalemated and DeCastro blocks down on the nose guard as the front side linebacker comes free into the hole to plug the hole. Either Blount was expected to keep the run inside and follow the double-team or this was a missed assignment on the line.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Drive 2

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and attempts a quick slant to Antonio Brown in the end zone. The pass is broken up.

An unnecessary roughness penalty on Beachum knocks the Steelers outside the 10 for a few plays. They get one more snap inside the 10 on the drive.

9-yard line – On fourth down, Roethlisberger throws to Wheaton in the end zone, but Wheaton turns in and the pass is to the outside. It’s incomplete and the drive is over.

Game 7 Texans

3-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and pitches to Antonio Brown, who is coming around on what appears to be a reverse. He reverses his field and throws a touchdown to Lance Moore.

Drive 2

9-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick slant to Antonio Brown, who is tackled at the 2.

2-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick pass into the flat for Bell, who gets into the end zone for the touchdown.

Game 8 Colts

Drive 1

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who gains 3 yards to the 5.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick slant to Martavis Bryant for a touchdown.

Drive 2

8-yard line – It’s first-and goal after the Colts go off sides on a field goal attempt. Roethlisberger is under center and throws a fade to Antonio Brown, who pulls in the touchdown.

Drive 3

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who gains 2 yards to the 2.

2-yard line – On second-and-goal, Roethlisberger throws a fade to Bryant, who scores his second touchdown of the game.

Game 9 Ravens

Drive 1

7-yard line – On second-and-goal, Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Blount for a 2-yard gain to the 5.

5-yard line – On third-and-goal, Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and finds Bell in a favorable matchup with linebacker CJ Mosley. He fires a timing pattern to Bell in the end zone for the touchdown.

Game 10 Jets

Drive 1

4-yard line – It’s third-and-1. Defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson disrupts the play by tossing Beachum to the ground and penetrating into the backfield, where he drops Bell for a 1-yard loss.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Drive 2

2-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and throws incomplete into the end zone. A roughing the passer penalty gives the Steelers first-and-goal at the 1.

1-yard line – On first-and-goal, Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Blount for no gain. Beachum and Foster allow penetration into the backfield, which does not allow Blount a chance to advance past the line of scrimmage.

1-yard line – On second down, the Steelers try a zone play. Foster overreaches Wilkerson, who cuts inside the attempted block and forces Blount to retreat. People got on Blount about losing 8 yards on the 1-yard line, but you can argue running a zone play there is not the smartest play call against a front like the Jets, who have good linemen who are penetrators . It wasn’t Blount’s fault the blocking broke down.

9-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and cannot find an open receiver. He scrambles to the right and attempts a pass to Antonio Brown that falls incomplete.

Game 11 Titans

Drive 1

6-yard line – First-and-goal. Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and hands off to Bell for a 1-yard gain. DeCastro pulls and leads him into the hole, but the backside linebacker fills the hole when Foster cannot get to him coming off a double-team block.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and sends Bell in motion. Bell runs a fade route, but Roethlisberger’s pass is overthrown. Bell is well covered.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and throws a fade to Bryant. The pass is overthrown. Bryant is well covered.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Drive 2

5-yard line – It’s first-and-goal at the 5. Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who gets into the end zone for a touchdown.

Game 12 Saints

Drive 1

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who bounces to the outside and scores.

Drive 2

8-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass to the back of the end zone intended for Antonio Brown. A penalty on New Orleans on the play moves the ball to the 4.

4-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Moore is in the backfield and goes in motion to the right. He is open in the end zone, but Roethlisberger throws behind him and it’s incomplete.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and rolls left. He throws another pass intended for Moore that is broken up at the pylon.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick slant to Antonio Brown for a touchdown.

Drive 3

6-yard line – Roethlisberger spikes the ball to stop the clock.

6-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a quick slant to Bryant in the end zone that falls incomplete.

6-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown as time expires.

Game 13 Bengals

Drive 1

8-yard line – It’s third-and-3. Roethlisberger is under center in an empty set. Bell catches a slant and gets to the 1.

1-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is under center and fakes a handoff to Bell. He rolls right and tosses a touchdown pass to a wide open Miller.

Drive 2

4-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is in the shotgun with an empty set. He throws an incomplete pass intended for Moore in the end zone.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass intended for Moore in the back of the end zone.

4-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass intended for Bryant in the back of the end zone.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Game 14 Falcons

Drive 1

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and hands off to Bell, who follows a pulling Foster into the end zone for a touchdown.

Game 15 Chiefs

Drive 1

7-yard line – It’s second-and-four. Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who is tackled for a 2-yard gain when defensive tackle Jaye Howard gets off the block of Gilbert.

5-yard line – On third-and-2, Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass intended for Brown at the goal line.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Drive 2

6-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and throws a shovel pass to Miller, who gets tackled at the 1.

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and fakes a handoff to Bell. He attempts a play-action pass to Miller in the back of the end zone, but the play is broken up.

1-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and attempts a pass to Bryant in the back of the end zone. It’s incomplete, but the Steelers get four new down because of a defensive holding penalty.

1-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who follows DeCastro’s block into the end zone for a touchdown.

Drive 3

9-yard line – It’s first-and-5 after an offsides penalty. Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who gets 5 yards to the 4.

5-yard line – Roethlisberger is under center and attempts to throw a fade to Antonio Brown that falls incomplete.

5-yard line – On third-and-2, Roethlisberger is under center and hands off to Bell, who gets 2 yards to the 3 for a first down.

3-yard line – It’s first-and-goal. Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and whips a pass to Antonio Brown in the end zone for a touchdown with the pocket collapsing around him.

Drive 4

8-yard line – It’s second-and-7 from the 8. Roethlisberger is under center and fakes a handoff to Bell. He throws an incomplete pass that was intended for Palmer in the back of the end zone.

8-yard line – On third down, Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and completes a pass to Miller to the 4.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.

Game 16 Bengals

Drive 1

7-yard line – Roethlisberger is in the shotgun with an empty set and throws an incomplete pass intended for Antonio Brown in the back of the end zone.

7-yard line – On third down, Roethlisberger is in the shotgun and an empty set. He throws an incomplete pass intended for Brown in the end zone.

*The Steelers settle for a Suisham field goal.