With the Steelers off to a tough 1-2 start, it’s clear that these players are holding this offense back from being successful.
While the victory over the Bills gave the team hope, subsequent defeats to the Raiders and Bengals have cast a shadow over a once hopeful Steelers season. It seems clear that when healthy, this defense can shut down opposing offenses.
As for the team’s own offense though, this group has massively underperformed through three weeks. You can circle these players as the primary reason for the Steelers’ offensive slouch, as they are clearly holding this team back.
Steelers Eric Ebron
No Steelers offensive player has gotten off to a worse start than Eric Ebron. While an effective receiver last season, he has failed to make any sort of a noticeable impact for the offense so far. He can’t block, but frankly, given his playstyle, that was never really expected of him. The issue is, he has been extremely ineffective as a receiver, only catching one of his seven targets for 19 yards. Frankly put, he isn’t contributing positively to this offense.
Where he is really holding this team back though is that he is receiving snaps over Pat Freiermuth. For the first time this season, Ebron out-snapped the rookie. On paper, it makes sense given the Steelers were down for the majority of the game against the Bengals, but in terms of actual play quality, it was the wrong choice. Sure, Ebron can be a dynamic receiver, but he hasn’t shown that off this season. Meanwhile, Freiermuth has been one of the steadiest pass catchers on the team.
Moving forward, the Steelers can still use Ebron, but it needs to be more in a reserved role. There is little reason he should be seeing snaps over Freiermuth at this point, but if the team wants a two-tight end set out, Ebron can pose a mismatch against heavier defensive looks. Besides that, though, any snap he is receiving over Freiermuth is not helping this offense.
Steelers offensive line
I mulled with splitting this group up, but at the end of the day, the entire Steelers line hasn’t been good enough to warrant much praise. Trai Turner has looked average, and Dan Moore has exceeded expectations (granted, those weren’t high ones), but overall, this group has played worse than most expected. That is saying something considering how bad most fans expected this unit to be.
Kevin Dotson has struggled to take a step forward so far in 2021. Meanwhile, Kendrick Green is flashing some physicality at center, but he is also struggling at the point of attack similar to how he struggled in college. The worst of the group is Chukwuma Okorafor, who has proven that he isn’t much of a starting tackle despite having the chance to develop for over three seasons.
All of this together has really crippled the Steelers’ offense. The passing game is relying on the quick passing game (not entirely the lines fault, to be honest) and this group has given up eight total sacks so far. The rushing offense has been even worse, as Najee Harris has rushed for an abysmal 123 yards and is averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry. Zach Banner will ideally provide some sort of boost, but the line as a whole needs to play better if this offense wants any chance to succeed.
Steelers Ben Roethlisberger
While the offensive line has done Ben Roethlisberger few favors so far, he is also deserving of some of the blame for just how sluggish this offensive unit has been. While no one expected him to come out and throw the ball as he did in his prime, his decision-making has been questionable, and his deep throws have once again been off the mark. It hasn’t been a strong start for the veteran.
As of now, Roethlisberger looks like the quarterback from the last quarter of the season in 2020, where the team went from 11-0 to 12-4 before losing in the first round of the playoffs. The only difference is he is actually stepping into his throws as his knees aren’t as banged up as they were last season. He is still settling for check-down passes and quick throws. With that being such a staple now in this offense, opposing defenses have little issue countering it.
This isn’t to say that the Steelers should bench Roethlisberger. He is still the best option to win but that benefit of the doubt is waning. If the team continues to struggle and is suddenly out of any sort of contention for the 2021 playoffs, a benching may be on the table. In the meantime, though, Roethlisberger needs to quit playing as he has so far this season. No, he doesn’t have to revert back to the gunslinger mentality of his younger self, but better-placed passes and fewer check-downs would go a long way in helping this offense.
With the Steelers off to a weak 1-2 start, the offense has to start making some changes in order to get this unit on the right track. If not, expect a long season filled with disappointment unless the defense can play at an elite level week in and week out. While these players can turn things around, right now they are clearly holding this Steelers offense back.