Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger needs to build on solid performance
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten inconsistent play from Ben Roethlisberger this season. He has played well since the terrible showing against Jacksonville and needs to build on his recent play.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to push for a top seed in the AFC playoffs. In order to do that, they will need Big Ben to play as close to last Thursday’s version of himself as possible.
Ben had a good start to the season throwing six touchdowns to just two interceptions. That all changed when the Jaguars came to town and tallied five picks against the Steelers in a rout at Heinz Field.
Since then, however, Big Ben has played better. His stat line since the Jaguars game is 97 for 156, 61.5 completion percentage, 1,328 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions with 265.6 yards per game.
The Steelers have won all five games since the Jacksonville rout. The play of Ben has been a big reason for this win streak they are on.
He has only eclipsed 300 yards once since the game, although he came up one yard shy against Tennessee last week. The yardage is not as big for the offense as the lack of turnovers and the touchdown production.
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Big Ben will need to build on the great stretch and his performance on TNF to help propel Pittsburgh to the number one seed in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh now holds the top spot with six games left on the schedule. Ben will face Green Bay (18th pass defense), Cincinnati (6th), Baltimore (2nd), New England (32nd), Houston (26th) and Cleveland (14th).
He faces two current top five pass defenses in the next three weeks. The New England defense is last due to a poor first half but they have also performed well as of late.
The Pittsburgh offense will need to open up the pass by using their tough run game. Although ranked just 19th with 102.4 yards per game, the run game is still a solid asset.
This will only help Big Ben in the pass game if they can run the ball effectively. Le’Veon Bell and the offensive line will need to close out the last six games strong.
Big Ben has fared well at home and in primetime in his career. This bodes well for Pittsburgh who will play at home or in primetime in four of the last six games.
If the Steelers can get Big Ben going confidently, the offense can take off to new heights. After scoring 30-plus points for the first time this season, the offense looked great.
Now with six games left, the offense would do well for themselves to get hot. Heading into the postseason with a hot offense and a good defense is key to success.
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If Big Ben heads into the playoffs with the team clicking, their chances are great. Steelers fans will watch closely hoping for a top seed and home field throughout over then next six weeks.