3 reasons why the Big Ben era is coming to an end for the Steelers

Ben is trying to change his playstyle this year, but it’s not working

If Ben isn’t able to make the throws he once did regularly He is showing that he has no problem playing the game differently. Yet, the Steelers offense is drowning at this time. The last 3 weeks have seen opposing defenses load 10 defenders close to the line of scrimmage and every single one of these defensive backs just sit on the routes. At the same point while Ben is trying to change his playstyle I don’t know if it is fitting for him.

A lot of these “west coast” style quarterbacks that make pre-reads and throw it quickly are significantly more precise than Ben is when it comes to ball placement. Even comparing Ben to a player like Jimmy Garrapolo, Ben doesn’t have that ability to place the ball exactly where he wants to. You need that throwing the ball quickly as most receivers in the league need more than 2.25 seconds to get open. Ben can’t throw them open at this stage of his career consistently. There were a lot of makeable shorter throws that Ben threw too high or too low and it was looking rough. I don’t think Ben can win at a high level playing like this. At some point, Ben needs to realize that he will have to take hits to be successful at this level.

After nearly 17 years in the NFL, he can’t expect to come in and throw differently. He nearly got JuJu Smith-Schuster killed in the open field throwing it too high. Diontae Johnson had to extend his whole body upwards to haul in a throw later in the game and the first thing I thought was that Vonn Bell would be coming down to crush him. Ben is lucky he didn’t get a receiver hurt in Week 15. If Roethlisberger doesn’t have the zip anymore to throw some of these deeper outs he is trying to throw, then he has to throw it high and outside to give his receiver a chance to make a play. I don’t think Ben has the accuracy to play like this and it worries me at this stage of his career. If he can’t throw the deep ball, they will not make it far in the playoffs.

If Ben can’t recapture some of his old magic by being willing to take a hit or hold onto the ball for just a little longer, the offense will continue to struggle. Roethlisberger has to do a better job of reading the defense during the play and not just before the snap as well. I don’t think he is the same player he was 10 years ago and I think that is why his era is ending now.