The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the preseason last year. TE Pat Freiermuth recalls why he’s not too worried about their problems this year. At least that’s one of the reasons, the others are their talent and the work they put in.

The Steelers beat every team by at least two possessions in the preseason last year, and blew the Falcons 24-0 in the finale. This year, they’ve struggled to score any points at all, managing just 3 points last week from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. While the offensive line was the main culprit, Freiermuth knows there’s blame at every level.

“Last year we were the height of the heights. Obviously we’re not where we want to be now, so I’ve seen both perspectives,” Freiermuth said earlier this week via the team’s website. “I actually thought against Houston that was the first preseason game I lost. We expect to start the season on a high, so we need to get rid of the rust (in this final preseason game) and then everything will be fine.”

Freiermuth played just 12 snaps in the Steelers’ 20-12 loss to the Texans. He had just one target and caught a 6-yard pass. Wilson did not play in that game, however, and Fields only played a relatively short time. The offense scored two touchdowns in the final 20 minutes while playing against Houston’s third and fourth lines. The Texans already had a 17-point lead at that point and led 20-6 at the start of the fourth quarter.

That’s a stark contrast to what the Steelers were doing this time last year. Former Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett had a nearly perfect preseason, scoring a touchdown on every drive he was on. But as Freiermuth witnessed, that wasn’t nearly enough for the regular season.

The Steelers were 28th in scoring last year, averaging just under 18 points per game, thanks to a late-season addition in Mason Rudolph, who helped the offense to two 30-plus point games. This season, Pat Freiermuth missed a lot of time due to injury, which obviously didn’t help. But how much can he help an offense that can’t help itself, as it is this year? There are even crackpots who say the Steelers would be better off with Pickett back.

By the way, Pickett has completed 25 of 35 passes for the Philadelphia Eagles this preseason. He has thrown for 159 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, but has suffered six sacks. He also has 10 rushing yards on five attempts, with one long of 3 yards.

Russell Wilson has completed 8 of 10 passes for 47 yards, Justin Fields has completed 16 of 23 passes for 159 yards. Neither has thrown a touchdown or an interception, but Kyle Allen has thrown both. Freiermuth played just 25 snaps in the preseason and had just 2 catches for 16 yards. But hey, it’s only the preseason, right?