Steelers QB report card: Ben Roethlisberger falls flat vs Bengals

Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Week 3 Grade: D

I was tempted to give Ben Roethlisberger an F just based on how hard it was watching him struggle through the game, but as I said previously I don’t think he played as poorly as he possibly could have. He still completed over 65% of his passes and had a few nice throws in this game, even though it wasn’t nearly enough.

It wasn’t the worst stat line he has ever had by any means, especially over the last year. But stats can be misleading, and that is certainly the case for this game by Ben. Anyone who watched the game live could see how painfully slow and old he looked, barely able to escape pressure for a few moments before taking a sack or big hit.

At this point, the coaching staff is in an impossible position. Bench Ben for Rudolph or Haskins with the hope of them sparking the offense? Or let Ben continue to trot out there and try and salvage his season? I still believe the right decision is to let Ben try and play through it and see if something clicks. Part of that is not wanting to see a legend end his Steelers career that way, but I don’t blame fans for wanting to see him benched.

Ben hasn’t given fans or the coaching staff any reason to trust him this year, and my stance on him staying the starter could easily change if things aren’t improving when the Steelers reach their week 7 bye. That is the point where we could see the Steelers coaching staff make a move if they ever will.

Until then, Steelers fans have to hope for the offensive line to improve via natural progression or a possible trade or signing. That is still the best chance for the Steelers to improve the offense this season.