Steelers QB report card: Ben Roethlisberger bounces back in 2nd half to defeat Bills

Ben Roethlisberger’s best throw hopefully a sign of things to come for Steelers

Situation: 1st-and-10 at the Steelers 34-yard line, Steelers down 10-0 with 12:21 left in the 3rd quarter

This throw came during the Steelers opening possession of the second half, the first of the game where Ben Roethlisberger seemed to have a rhythm going. He had just completed a 19-yard pass to Eric Ebron to convert on third down, and for the first time all day, it seemed Pittsburgh was threatening to score.

Roethlisberger took the snap from shotgun, faked a handoff to Najee Harris and lofted a perfect ball over Tre’Davious White where only Chase Claypool could get it.

It was the type of play the Steelers need from Claypool, and more importantly the type of throw Big Ben needs to be attempting more.

With the number of weapons at his disposal, at least one or two receivers are going to be left one-on-one on a lot of plays. Roethlisberger needs to take advantage of those situations by challenging the defense vertically instead of relying on quick screens and slants. Part of it is trusting his receivers and offensive line, but he needs to be aggressive if he wants to show he can still get the job done.

Although he managed to salvage what otherwise would have been an awful day, Roethlisberger still only managed 188 yards passing. That won’t cut it most games, especially when the run game was stuck in the mud once again.

I’m sure Roethlisberger would tell you all that matters is the win, not his numbers. But he will have to be more productive than that moving forward, especially if the run game continues to struggle.