5 Steelers who will be critical to Pittsburgh’s success down the stretch

QB Ben Roethlisberger

This may seem like an obvious choice, but the reality of the situation is that the Steelers live and die by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. While he hasn’t been perfect in 2020, he has been remarkable in his 17th NFL season, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio is the best it has been in his entire career.

Still, for this offense to be truly lethal down the stretch, Roethlisberger must be able to connect on the deep ball at a higher rate than he has done so thus far. According to Playerprofiler.com, Ben has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league this year at consistently connected with receivers down the field, and it has shown at times. In games where he misses some wide-open receivers like Chase Claypool or Diontae Johnson deep, it could be the difference in getting an early lead and swinging the momentum of the game.

It’s hard to find much of anything to complain about Roethlisberger this year – especially considering the alternative we dealt with in 2019. The 38-year-old is still slinging the ball and doing enough for the Steelers to be one of the best teams in the league. He needs to continue this consistent play late in the season and into the playoffs.

There are plenty of players who deserve credit for Pittsburgh’s historical performance in 2020, but the job is far from done. These five players will prove to have monumental impacts down the stretch. Let’s hope their contributions are all positive.