With their struggles in maintaining a kicker well-documented last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers carved out a nice place in NFL history by converting eight two-point conversions last season. And it appears that it may soon become the norm for one of the league’s most explosive offenses.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently stated that he wants to go for two after every touchdown. Now, it appears that head coach Mike Tomlin might be seeing eye-to-eye with his signal caller, raising the possibility that more two-point conversions might become the norm for Pittsburgh.
“Our comfort with pursuing it is steeped in our preparation — it’s part of our practice plan,” Tomlin said. “Having Ben at the quarterback position increased our level of comfort.”
Tomlin went on to state that if it not for timely injuries to Roethlisberger over the course of the season, the Steelers would have likely gone for two more often. Pittsburgh went 8-11 on their two-point conversions, an astoundingly good rate. With a deep receiving corps that includes All-Pro Antonio Brown and a running game spearheaded by Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers have one of the strongest offenses in the league. This group has often played much of the past two seasons incomplete, with injuries often sidelining Bell and Roethlisberger so that all of their strongest pieces are never together long enough.
But with an offense loaded with young pieces like Bell (24) and Brown (28) still in the prime of their careers, the idea of going for two after every touchdown is not a bad move. It gives their offense added opportunities to score and wear down an offense. As the league is set to keep extra points at the 15-yard line, and with special teams often being the weakest aspect of Pittsburgh the last few years, putting their faith in an offense led by a two-time Super Bowl Champion should be a comforting prospect. It would give opposing defenses more to plan against and keep them on their heels while giving their offense more opportunities on the field. If Tomlin indeed commits to increased two-point conversion attempts, it makes the Steelers that much more dangerous on Sundays.
