Dull would be one word to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense this season.

The Steelers are 27th in the NFL in total offense and rushing offense and 22nd in passing offense. Not surprisingly, the Steelers have been lacking big plays.

The Steelers are 27th in the league in explosive play rate. They have had gains of 20 yards or more on just 4.6 percent of their offensive plays. The list of teams with a worse rate is short: the New Orleans Saints (3.0), the Cleveland Browns (4.1), and the San Francisco 49ers (4.4).

The Steelers had just two "chunk" plays last Sunday when they lost to the Chicago Bears 31-28. The longest was a 55-yard run around end by Kenneth Gainwell out of the tush push formation. The other was Mason Rudolph's 21-yard pass to Ben Skowronek.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who once held the same position with the Tennessee Titans for two seasons, was criticized for not running pass plays to the middle of the field. However, Smith said an offense can only take advantage of what the defense gives it.

"When I was in Tennessee, we were one of the more explosive chunk-play (teams), and it was always asked, 'Why do you guys never throw the ball outside?'" Smith said. "There are so many layers to those kinds of questions, because our backs have been so productive (against) underneath coverage (and tight end) Darnell (Washington) has, as you've already seen, and just shallow routes that are underneath the people dropping heavy into it.

"To get in a game like last week, one of the more efficient run games we've had, you know, every game tells a different story. We had more yards, more time of possession, way more run production, but the problem is we turned the ball over twice."

The Steelers had a season-high 186 rushing yards. Yet they had just 159 yards passing despite Rudolph being an efficient 24-of-31 passing while playing in place of Aaron Rodgers, who missed the game with a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist.

Rodgers will return when the Steelers (6-5) host the Buffalo Bills (7-4) on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The Bills lead the NFL in explosive play rate at 8.2 percent, which doesn't bode well for the Steelers, who are 28th in total defense and last in passing defense. Rodgers and the Steelers' offense will have to try to keep up.

"We certainly took our chances down the field," Smith said of last week's game. "We didn't hit them. We'll just keep working. That's why we coach."