Steelers QB report card: Ben Roethlisberger flashes improvement vs Raiders

Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Week 2 Grade: B

There is no question that this game was more impressive for Ben Roethlisberger, and not just because of the obvious increase in production. He was noticeably more accurate and comfortable, showing more command of the offense than what we saw against Buffalo. He handled the Raiders pass rush well for the most part and did a good job stressing the defense deep with 5 attempts over 30 yards. If the Steelers can get any sort of consistency from the running game and the pass protection can begin to settle down, this level of play from Ben will be plenty good enough to win games.

Those are big ifs, but Ben can’t carry the team on his back like he did years ago. The offense is going to need those things to happen if they want to score more points. In my opinion, Ben held up his end of the bargain today whether he believes it or not. While he was far from perfect, the offensive line and injuries to key players on defense were clearly the biggest problems.

Overall, this was a solid performance from Ben that will hopefully lead to better days for the offense. He will need the young talent around him to grow up quickly in what could be his final ride, but it’s promising that Ben has been able to weather the storm to begin the season.

I firmly believe that this season will be the exact opposite of last year, struggling early on offense but figuring things out more and more every week. This game was the first step in that process, and I expect the trend to continue next week against the Bengals.