Offensive line
They also noted the State of the offensive line is not in Roethlisberger’s favor either. They are a young line and have not yet gelled and are not doing the job they need to protect Roethlisberger. Case in point, in 2020, they only allowed 14 sacks and no sacks in six games. In 2021 they have allowed eight sacks in 3 games and are on pace to allow at least 45 sacks.
Then add the failure to open up the holes for the running backs. In conjunction, every lineman has been flagged at least once for some infraction. . In several cases, wiping out significant gains by Najee Harris. The quarterback can not control the playmaking ability of the offensive linemen.
Injuries
They also noted the injuries did not help the situation much either. Not having T.J. Watt and his playmaking abilities certainly hurt the Steelers in the Raiders and Bengals game. They were also down Tyson Alualu, whom they lost in the Raiders game, Devon Bush, and Stephon Tuitt.
They then failed to sack Joe Burrows in the Bengals game and snapped their 75 game sack streak. Not pressuring the quarterback, especially those as talented as Carr or Burrows, will hurt you, which is exactly what happened in both losses this season. None of which fans can blame on Ben Roethlisberger.
Add to that in the Bengals game losing Diontae Johnson, Smith-Shuster leaving the game with a rib injury, and the late addition to this week’s injury report that Chase Claypool suffered a hamstring injury. Take away the quarterback targets; it gives you a very one-dimensional offense.