4 areas the Steelers must improve coming out of the bye week
By Tommy Jaggi
Ball security
One thing the Steelers can’t afford to do against good opponents is lose the turnover battle, and consistently coughing up the ball is a great way to do that.
Though Ben Roethlisberger has been abnormally careful with the ball this season (just 1 interception in his first 109 attempts), some of Pittsburgh’s younger skill players have not been. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Benny Snell have both flashed for the team this season, but they each have a pair of fumbles to their name already in 2020 – two of which were lost to the opposing team (it would have been three if JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t make a miraculous play to recover a Snell fumble around a sea of blue against the Giants).
These are fixable issues, but they’ve become a bit concerning at this point. Snell wasn’t a big fumbler in college, but he has coughed the ball up 3 times in his last 72 carries. Meanwhile, Diontae Johnson could prove to be a scary return man in the NFL, but his issues securing the ball have left Steelers fans nervous anytime he’s back to return the punt. These ball security issues must improve.