The Pittsburgh Steelers remain in the thick of the playoff hunt, but it has been in spite of their offense, not because. And the Steelers have already taken steps to remedy their ailing scoring attack by firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, turning over playcalling duties to quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan during their 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

While firing Canada didn't exactly spark an instantaneous offensive turnaround for the Steelers, the front office felt like a change was necessary after quarterback Kenny Pickett, after a promising offseason, failed to make the leap many thought he'd make due to some of the handicaps the Canada-led offense placed on the 25-year old QB.

“Pro Football Network talked to multiple league sources who have graded the Steelers’ offensive tape this season and cited the following issues with Canada’s offensive scheme: too many college concepts, poor spacing created, lack of an intermediate passing game, and lack of identity,” Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network wrote.

“But even with those issues, the biggest problem was the lack of development from second-year QB Kenny Pickett, who team sources said had ‘an outstanding offseason.'”

With Mike Sullivan at the helm of the Steelers' offense, there were a few noticeable changes that came even though they scored just 16 points in their most recent game. As Adam Caplan took note of, “the deep ball returned and the badly needed intermediate passing game featuring tight end Pat Freiermuth was in full force”, making much better use of Kenny Pickett's skillset than Matt Canada ever did.

Only time will tell if the Steelers' decision to hand over playcalling duties to Sullivan more than halfway into the season pays off in a big way, although there are clear signs that they are progressing well.