Despite the defense falling apart at times during the 2023 NFL season, the main culprit for the Pittsburgh Steelers having a 7-6 record is the offense. Or rather, the reason that the Steelers have as good a record as 7-6 is the defense. There was false hope that former offensive coordinator Matt Canada had turned things around when he called the plays that helped second-year QB Kenny Pickett lead the first-team offense to five touchdowns on five drives in the preseason.
However, the offense never came close to being in the same planetary orbit as that success, and Canada was dismissed in late November.