Waking up to a Victory Monday while simultaneously hearing news of Martavis Bryant being “unhappy” with his role with the Steelers had me thinking: how do the Steelers fix the Martavis Bryant situation?

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Let me preface this question by stating I do not feel that there is a “situation” nor do I feel it’s something which is broken and needs to be fixed.

The first thing we have to understand that while on paper some of the teams the Steelers have faced don’t appear to be top-flight NFL teams, they are in fact solid defenses. Chicago, Jacksonville, and Cleveland are perennial basement dwellers but are far from being the worst pass defenses in the league. In fact, four of Pittsburgh’s opponents to date (Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Chicago) are ranked in the top ten of NFL defenses for passing yards per game average. The Jaguars are ranked second while the Bengals are ranked third; the Vikings come in 12th while even the lowly Browns under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are sitting in the middle of the pack at 15th.

The worst pass defense the Steelers have faced so far? Kansas City, who is near the bottom at 28th.

What this means for players not named Antonio Brown is that they aren’t getting the ball. Even AB has seen limited success this season, with two four-reception games and a five-reception game. While Brown has been targetted in the double digits in all but one game (against the Ravens he was only thrown at nine times – insert eye roll)

Bryant has seen a mixed bag of targets from four and five against the Ravens and Vikings, six against Cleveland, and eight each against the Bears and Jaguars. Bryant has had only five targets against the Chiefs and Bengals in the last two weeks, but that’s more a function of criticism of Ben Roethlisberger instead. After throwing 55 passes against in a five-interception game against Jacksonville, Big Ben hasn’t crossed the 30 pass mark in his last two games either, with 25 attempts against KC and 24 against Cincy.

Compare that with 36, 35, 39, 30, and 55 attempts in his first five games, and you can now get a sense of how there aren’t enough balls to go around. Literally, someone has to take a backseat, and when you’re not throwing as many passes while also playing solid pass defenses, the demise of Martavis Bryant appears to be more talk than action.

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More proof?

Bryant is the third-most targeted Steeler behind Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers have now flipped the script on focusing on the run, finding success when RB Le’Veon Bell has 30 or more carries in a game. In three of their last four games, all wins, the Steelers have ridden Bell to 144, 179, and 134-yard rushing games.

The middle game? The 55-pass attempt disaster against the Jags, where Bell only had 15 attempts. And guess what the complaint was then?

You guessed it: the Steelers should run the ball more.

Now the narrative on Monday morning is “get Bryant the ball more.” While I have no problem with integrating him into the offensive game plan, I’d argue he hasn’t been all too devalued. When Martavis does come off of the field, it’s typically when Antonio Brown is the only receiver in the game, in two tight end sets with a fullback or the Steelers jumbo package: all obvious run situations.

And as noted above, he’s the third-most targeted player. Attention isn’t a problem so much as Ben Roethlisberger isn’t putting up fantasy-type numbers eithers.

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Even that scenario isn’t always true, with Bryant as the lone receiver. However, Martavis is Pittsburgh’s number two, not number one, so it’s understandable if he leaves the game and not AB, for a running game that’s working while limiting Ben’s attempts. The focus on the run is a winning formula, and one that will open up the passing game as the season moves forward.

Bryant has still seen half or better of the offense’s snaps all year, and with the strongest pass defenses in the rearview, I’d expect we’re talking about the Steelers having “fixed” their issues with Bryant over the next four games. Those games include tilts against weaker pass defenses, such as the 22nd-ranked Lions, 31st-ranked Colts, 19th-ranked Titans, and 16th-ranked Packers.

In other words, the answer to fixing the passing game woes with Martavis Bryant relies more on the competition than it does Bryant, Brown, Ben or anyone else on the team, including coaching, game plans, or practices. It’s quite hard to believe that Bryant isn’t highly thought of by the Steelers or his peers. After being out of football for well over a year, his road back to the field has been a long, difficult journey of which he should be commended for working hard, both physically and mentally, to try to live up to his potential as a WR1. When outside factors influence numbers which do not reflect that of a WR1 or even a WR2, it can be frustrating.

That’s what we’re seeing from Martavis Bryant right now: frustration. He knows he’s capable of more. Everyone else does too. But it hasn’t come as quickly as it has in previous seasons; I still believe it will.

So to answer the title question: How do the Steelers fix the Martavis Bryant situation?

Patience.

And then, all will be revealed…

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