Examine: The Steelers Should Break Their Opening Drive Drought

Slow starts have been a bugaboo for the Pittsburgh Steelers for quite some time, including no opening drive touchdowns on offense in the entire 2024 season. Another facet is zeroing in on Week One opening drives, as Dave Bryan and Alex Kozora went down the rabbit hole in a recent Terrible Podcast, learning Pittsburgh’s last one was way back in 2008.

The goal today is to see how this compares to every NFL offense to gain context.

Here is a visual of Week One opening drive touchdowns since 1999, courtesy of data from nflfastR:

Right away, we get a sense of the Steelers’ gut-wrenching drought of 16 years. Only one offense in the entire league has a more prolonged absence of Week One opening drive touchdowns: the Houston Texans. 2006 was their last occurrence, so Pittsburgh’s inability to start the season off with a bang is indeed one of the worst in the NFL.

No matter how you dice it, the Steelers have an opening drive problem. Back in the 2000s, however, they had 4 out of 5 seasons with a Week One opening drive touchdown. That span was from 2004-2008, with 2006 being the exception.

This was, of course, a more successful stretch for the team. While there are many other factors, this includes both of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl titles in the span.

In the 2005-2006 season, QB Ben Roethlisberger hit TE Heath Miller in the red zone for a three-yard TD pass in a commanding 34-7 victory. The other title-winning year (2008-2009) began with a 7-yard rushing touchdown from RB Willie Parker, the last time Pittsburgh had a Week One opening drive TD. In fact, Parker punched it in three times in a comfortable 38-17 win.

Then the other two seasons. In the previous 2007 season, another red zone score, Roethlisberger to WR Hines Ward from 5 yards out, ironically in another 34-7 victory. The final season with a Week One opening drive TD was 2004, when RB Jerome Bettis posted a one-yard rushing score. This was also a win, albeit a slimmer margin (24-21).

So, all four seasons with Week One opening drive touchdowns were victories. Additionally, these plays helped kick off 10-plus win seasons and playoff appearances in each of them. Fast starts indeed aid a team’s success, and we see it’s certainly been the case when Pittsburgh’s offense got in the end zone on their first drive of the season.

We also see that there were many teams with multiple occurrences since 1999, and many more have occurred far more recently. For example, the division rival Ravens have had five (of six) qualifying seasons since 2011, and are one of nine teams to match Pittsburgh’s four in total more recently.

The drought is staggering. But if you’re looking for some optimism, the Steelers fare better when looking in totality. Here’s a chart of the number of seasons with Week One opening drive touchdowns since 1999:

Pittsburgh’s four seasons tie for 14th in most seasons with a Week One opening drive touchdown. Nine total teams had this number in the span, tied for the second-most common number. So in totality, it’s not rare to have seasons without an opening drive touchdown.

Some interesting results above the Steelers, including the nine teams with six seasons of Week One opening drive TDs. Several teams have had success, including more recently. One team sits alone at the top of the results: the Tennessee Titans.

There are, of course, ties here, with Steelers OC Arthur Smith holding the same position with that team for two seasons (2019-2020). But neither of them featured a Week One opening drive touchdown, despite their overall success as an offense. Smith was also the head coach in Atlanta for three years (2021-2023), with no Week One opening drive touchdowns either.

Clearly, there have been changes in the Steelers’ offense for 2025, including the addition of QB Aaron Rodgers. In his two-decade career, he has accounted for only two Week One opening drive touchdowns: a 2011 11-yard touchdown pass and a 6-yard TD scramble in 2016 with Green Bay. Not exactly the fastest starter to open the season either, and only one passing is quite grim.

This poor track record, along with Pittsburgh HC Mike Tomlin’s downplaying the importance of fast starts, doesn’t lend to optimism for a significant change. However, starting fast can aid the goal of winning, and this has happened in some of the most successful Steelers seasons of the span. Why not prioritize it?

Unfortunately, all arrows point to the issue continuing, but here’s to hoping I’m wrong and the Steelers’ 2025 season starts with a bang. Things have boded well for them when they have.