3 positives to take away from Steelers Week 2 loss against Raiders

Ben Roethlisberger has shown a willingness to throw more passes down the field

One of the biggest knocks I had against Ben Roethlisberger in 2020 was his inability to throw the football down the field. So far in 2021, Big Ben’s accuracy has been all over the place, but at least he has shown a willingness to air it out.

This past week against the Raiders, Ben threw 14 passes beyond 10 air yards. Sadly, just 4 of these passes were completed and one was to the opposing team for an interception. While the results aren’t where we want them to be, taking shots down the field is a start.

By looking to pass the ball downfield, Roethlisberger can help take additional defenders out of the box and force the defense to respect the passing game. He should hit on more of these in time.

In Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, Ben never had a pass that traveled beyond 20 air yards. This week against the Raiders, he had eight passes beyond 20 yards and five passes between 30 and 40 air yards. This is a start.

Roethlisberger clearly needs to improve his accuracy down the field, but if he’s able to start hitting on a few more of these deep balls, the entire offense will benefit as a result.