PITTSBURGH — Steelers offensive coordinator is the third-most scrutinized position in town, ahead of anything Pirates- or Penguins-related and right behind Steelers head coach and Steelers quarterback. It beats Steelers defensive coordinator on the scrutiny meter because everybody thinks they can call plays.

And you know what? Anybody could have called a better play than a fade to Cordarrelle Patterson on a two-point conversion attempt in Cleveland.

Arthur Smith loves him some Patterson, and at times this season he has looked right. Not lately, though, and that goes for the entire Smith era, all 11 games of it, at the moment: stretches of brilliance mixed with stretches of mediocrity.

I feel safe in saying the Smitty honeymoon has ended. That doesn't mean he is doing a bad job. It just means his grace period has expired and that he is facing increased and justified scrutiny after opening AFC North play with two duds.

But here's the thing: The defining games lay ahead, and if the Steelers are going to have to match points with four of the 10 highest-scoring teams in the NFL (Cincinnati twice, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Baltimore) down the stretch, Smith's offense needs to be much better than it has been in the Steelers' toughest games this season.

They beat up the Giants, Jets and Raiders, but in their five games against teams in playoff position (Atlanta, Denver, L.A. Chargers, Washington, Baltimore), the Steelers have averaged just 19.4 points per game. In two of those games, they failed to score a touchdown — and they weren't exactly The Greatest Show on Turf in Cleveland, either, with just 19 points in a horrible loss.

I'd grade Smith at a B- so far this season, giving him a break because he has been forced to work around some serious offensive line injuries and issues. James Daniels, for example, was off to a spectacular start before he was felled with a season-ending injury.

Smith is an obvious upgrade on Matt Canada — yes, I just redefined the term "damning with faint praise" — but still doesn't have the offense in the top 10 in scoring and has fallen short of some sad Canada benchmarks.

In 2022, which was Canada's final full season, the Steelers finished 22nd in red-zone touchdown percentage at 52%. Smith's outfit is eight spots lower, at 45%. That is somehow behind the Patriots and ahead of only the Giants and Cowboys.

In 2022, the Steelers were seventh in the NFL in third-down conversion rate at 45%. This season, they are 15th at 39%.

Smith's group has also been guilty of some short-yardage malfunctions in the past two games, not the least of which was the ill-advised fade to Patterson. On other occasions, when only a yard is needed, I'm baffled as to why the Steelers don't go to a full-scale tush push. Line up the 230-pound quarterback, Justin Fields, behind an excellent center in Zach Frazier with Najee Harris maniacally pushing from the back, and get a yard!

See? Even I can call plays.

It is sensible to have Fields in the game in those situations. What isn't sensible is to do nothing as the play clock dwindles, and the unit looks rushed, and you fail to call timeout — as was the case on a failed first-half fourth-and-1. Mike Tomlin spent timeouts like a drunken sailor in the second half; he couldn't use one in that critical situation in the first half?

The run game failed on so many fronts in the past two games, often getting stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. One of those horrible plays was a red-zone reverse for Patterson (please stop that, Artie).

On the other hand, the Steelers are more explosive under Smith than they ever were under Canada. They are scoring more. They are rolling up more yardage. They are averaging 25.6 points per game since Russell Wilson became the starting quarterback (note to Artie and Tomlin: When the game is on the line and Wilson is hot, let him and not Fields throw the ball on third-and-6). And they lead the league in time of possession.

There is something to be said for that last stat because it keeps the defense fresh, although it should be noted that in Canada's final full season, the Steelers were sixth in time of possession.

When Tomlin made the critical change at quarterback, his team was 4-2. He rationalized it, according to Jay Glazer, by saying, "I'm not trying to win games; I'm trying to win a world title here."

I would assume the same rationale applied to bringing in a new coordinator. We'll see over these next six games, and likely beyond, if Tomlin merely upgraded there or gave himself a real chance against the big boys of the AFC.

Big difference.

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