Ben Roethlisberger looked cooked in Week 3. He’s been looking cooked for weeks now, going back to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rapid collapse from 11-0 last season, but he looked particularly cooked on Sunday. In a 24-10 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he moved like a tree and threw like he was all too aware of his limits. Roethlisberger’s significant struggles are the Steelers’ primary issue as they fall to 1-2, with their playoff hopes already looking up in the air.
The quarterback is far from Pittsburgh’s only problem, as we’ll get to, but it’s difficult to win when your signal-caller is as limited and mistake-prone as this. Roethlisberger threw 58(!) times against Cincinnati and completed 38 of his passes for 318 yards, an average of just 5.5 yards per attempt. That number would have ranked outside of the top-35 quarterbacks by yards per attempt last season.
Most Roethlisberger throws fall into two categories: quick-hitting screen passes and lobs down the sideline in hopes that a receiver will either make a miraculous catch or the referee will throw a charitable flag. The former is by far the most common. Both varieties are geared toward letting Roethlisberger hold onto the ball for as little time as possible. Any sort of movement in the pocket risks having to run, anywhere. Unbalancing Big Ben’s already-fragile arm strength is a no-no.
Per Next Gen Stats, Roethlisberger takes the least amount of time to throw of any quarterback in the league by far, at just 2.35 seconds. Against Cincinnati, he was even lower than his season average, at 2.28 seconds. The Steelers’ offense is transparently designed to get the ball out of his hands immediately. Running back Najee Harris was somehow targeted 19 times, catching 14, including a doomed 4th-and-10 screen pass that ended the game:
https://twitter.com/Kofie/status/1442334083196018690?s=20
Getting the ball out quickly to the skill position players is not inherently a bad strategy. Many teams have had a lot of success with it. But the Steelers’ game plan is predictable and simplistic. There’s no chance that they will do anything else (other than the low-percentage lofted deep balls) and the defense can be fully confident that Roethlisberger will try to get the ball out quickly regardless of what’s there.
Exacerbating the Steelers’ offensive struggles is their troubling slate of injuries. Their top receiver, Diontae Johnson (a possession wideout with yards-after-catch ability), was injured late in Week 2 and missed the Bengals game. Juju Smith-Schuster went down against Cincinnati, and Chase Claypool appeared to be playing through a knock.
In addition, their run game remains absolutely nonexistent. Roethlisberger, who has never been a fan of playing under center or running play-action, would benefit from some easy gains on the ground that would open up the defense. But with a young offensive line struggling mightily, Harris has had no room to run. Through three games, Harris is 46th among 48 qualifying running backs in yards-per-carry.
The Steelers, similar to last season, have been content to let Roethlisberger throw the ball a lot and maneuver up the field slowly. It’s not a recipe for success. They looked competent at times in their impressive Week 1 win against Buffalo, but it has taken no time at all for defenses to solve the Steelers’ offense. First-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada will have quite a difficult time responding, considering the lack of personnel at his disposal.
Roethlisberger’s pectoral injury, which is clearly affecting him, complicates things further. It’s impressive that he’s fighting through the pain, but the injury has compromised him to the point that he’s barely playable as an NFL quarterback.
The interceptions, particularly ugly against Cincinnati, are only part of the story. Just watch this compilation:
Guys like this could never play in today’s league pic.twitter.com/kuFu2PU520
— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) September 27, 2021
The Steelers should ride it out with their Hall of Famer, but they’re going to need Roethlisberger to avoid some of those bad decisions. The best case scenario for the Steelers’ playoff race is that Roethlisberger becomes a pure game manager, the skill players stay healthy and productive, and Canada schemes up some yards.
The defense will always be the driving force for this team. They were injury-riddled in Week 2, and while they got some guys back for Week 3, they remained without their top two linebackers in TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. They are also out two of their top defensive lineman for a lengthier stretch, as both Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu are on injured reserve.
Ultimately, the defense would have to be otherworldly to carry this level of offense to wins. The Steelers’ next four games are against good teams: at the Green Bay Packers, vs the Denver Broncos, vs the Seattle Seahawks, and at the Cleveland Browns. They’ve already proven they can beat elite opposition, but after a double-digit loss to the Bengals, they will need a big turnaround if they’re going to stick around in the playoff race.
