4 Steelers stats that were completely unacceptable vs Packers in Week 4
By Tommy Jaggi
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 5.8 yards per attempt
Offensive line woes or not, it’s never okay to throw for a mere 5.8 yards per attempt in a game. Sadly, this has happened far too often for the 39-year-old quarterback. In fact, Roethlisberger has thrown for 5.9 yards per attempt or fewer in 3 of the 4 games he has played this year, and he posted similar numbers in the back half of the 2020 season.
Though Big Ben was missing one of his top targets in Chase Claypool, the Packers were without several key defensive players including edge defender Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Kevin King.
Finding open receivers wasn’t a problem in this game — hitting them on target was. On several occasions, JuJu Smith-Schuster was running wide open down the field for what could have been massive plays (and potentially even touchdowns). However, Ben’s passes were so far off the mark, you could see the frustration with JuJu on the sidelines (and it’s hard to blame him).
As has been the story dating back to last year, Roethlisberger has been far too content dumping the ball down underneath and he has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league this year when it comes to hitting routine throws beyond 10 air yards. Averaging 5.8 yards per attempt can no longer be acceptable if this team wants to start winning football games.