Getty Images

The Steelers averaged 27.2 points per game last season, which was good enough for seventh place in the NFL and a first place finish in the AFC North.

Things looked even better once wide receiver Martavis Bryant was plugged into the lineup after missing the first six games. The Steelers jumped to 31.2 points per game, a number that would have ranked first in the league if they’d done it over the course of all 16 contests. With Bryant set for a bigger role from the outset in 2015 and the likes of Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger also on hand, coach Mike Tomlin thinks the stage is set for the Steelers to be the league’s top offense.

“My expectation is they’re capable of being the very best because we’ve got the goods,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We’ve got guys that are capable. We’ve got guys that know what they’re doing. We’ve got guys that played together for an extended period of time now. So that’s a reasonable expectation.”

If the Steelers can’t get their defense on a better track, they’ll need their offense to be at least as good as it was in 2014 to book another trip to the postseason. That’s a change from the familiar balance in Pittsburgh, but it’s one that the Steelers will continue to embrace as long it represents their best path to success.