After offense reaches 400 yards, Eddie Faulkner anxious to see what Steelers can do for encore

As far as first impressions go, Eddie Faulkner made a good one in his debut as Pittsburgh Steelers interim offensive coordinator.

With Faulkner putting together the plan interim play caller Mike Sullivan deployed Sunday in Cincinnati, the Steelers exceeded 400 yards for the first time in 59 games in a 16-10 victory at the Bengals.

Then again, Faulkner wasn’t expecting anything other than the offensive game plan — and execution of it — to go swimmingly. And that was affirmed in reviews he got from the players he coaches.

“Only positive feedback,” Faulkner said Thursday. “I think they liked the way things went last week. We’ll continue to fine tune and see how much better we can get from it.”

Faulkner and Sullivan were tasked with running the offense when Matt Canada was fired last Tuesday after serving in his role as offensive coordinator for 44 games. That left just a few days for Faulkner and Sullivan, with help from other offensive assistants, to devise a scheme they would take into Paycor Stadium.

The duo hope the results are the same when the 7-4 Steelers face the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

Any concern about communication issues arising with two assistants taking over Canada’s role were erased when the Steelers got 99 yards rushing and a touchdown from Najee Harris, and Pat Freiermuth had a career day with nine catches for 120 yards. Quarterback Kenny Pickett even looked calmer and more confident in the pocket than he had in prior games.

“Things were fantastic,” Faulkner said. “It couldn’t have been any better. If I was over there telling Sully, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ he was on board with it. There wasn’t any kind of pushback at all. It was awesome. Sully called a great game. Let’s talk about that. Sully was awesome in that game, and I’m really excited about the trajectory that is going on right now.”

Not that Canada didn’t take an inclusive approach to game-planning, but Faulkner has been open from the day he was promoted to get the other offensive assistants involved in the game plan.

“We really honed in on the details,” Faulkner said. “The offensive staff was incredible. Those guys were awesome. Everybody had something to do with the process, with the preparation for that game. I’m just really proud of that.”

The goal for this weekend against Arizona, which has the NFL’s No. 26-ranked defense, is to get into the end zone more than once a game. The offense has scored one touchdown or fewer in seven of 11 games this season, and the 16 points scored against the Bengals was a shade below what the Steelers averaged before Canada’s dismissal.

“Just keep hammering away,” Faulkner said. “Last week, I talked about the details and ironing those out, it will come with that. Guys are all in (in terms of) understanding. I know the points weren’t what we wanted, but the success we had last week really gave me a good stage to sink the hook in and get guys to buy in. It made this week easier in the process of preparation.”

Coach Mike Tomlin promoted Faulkner to interim offensive coordinator because of the way the running backs coach handled his room in terms of preparation, detail and leadership. Harris also wasn’t surprised when the Steelers responded to what Faulkner wanted to see against the Bengals.

“He gives really good examples of what exactly a team should be,” he said. “I’m not saying coach Canada didn’t do that. This is no shot at him. Coach Faulk did a really good job of being a leader and carrying that leadership mentality and placing it on everybody and holding everybody accountable for stuff good or bad, mistakes or not.”

Based on what transpired against the Bengals, the mistakes were at a minimum, and the offense had a flow that had been lacking in previous games.

“We did feel a little different approach on the field,” wide receiver George Pickens said.

Faulkner’s mother was an educator, and he said he was taught patience and to handle tense situations with a calm demeanor. He took that approach into the game against Cincinnati and expects to have that same mentality over the final six weeks of the regular season.

“I’m always going to stay 10 toes down,” he said. “Nothing is ever going to get me off the rocker and start acting crazy. … I’m going to be solid.”