3 reasons Steelers offense won’t improve much in 2021

The Steelers are hoping for better results in the upcoming season, but here’s why their offense isn’t likely to be much improved in 2021. 

After falling flat on their faces to close out the 2020 season, Steelers fans have been advocated for Pittsburgh to target offense early in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, even if they do, there’s no guarantee that the players they select will be able to step in and make a difference from day one.

What we do know is that the team has already lost at least two starting offensive linemen this offseason in Maurkice Pouncey (retirement) and Matt Feiler (free agency), and they could be losing another if Alejandro Villanueva chooses to sign elsewhere.

As much as I would like to believe that the Steelers will have a drastic turnaround on the offensive side of the football this year, this transition back into a powerhouse offense is likely going to take some time. Here are three reasons Pittsburgh’s offense won’t improve much in 2021:

Ben Roethlisberger is another year older

I understand that Ben Roethlisberger might be the most valuable player to ever sport a Steelers uniform. However, many fans are guilty of overrating him in his old age. Though he wasn’t aided by his lack of running game and lackluster offensive line play, Ben was one of the least efficient quarterbacks in the league in 2020. He ranked 31st in deep-ball accuracy, 34th in red zone completion percentage, 32nd in yards per attempt, and 33rd in clean-pocket completion percentage last season, according to PlayerProfiler.com.

Now Roethlisberger is a 39-year-old quarterback coming off a monumental collapse in the 2020 season. Yet we are looking for him to be much better with what will essentially be the same roster this year? At this point in his career, he’s only going to get slower maneuvering in the pocket and his arm talent is only going to continue to decrease. It’s hard to justify using Big Ben as a reason why the Steelers will be a better offense in 2021.