Steelers continue to turn a blind eye to subpar Ben Roethlisberger performance

Ben Roethlisberger was less than spectacular against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6. Here’s why we shouldn’t ignore the offensive issues for the Steelers.

It’s getting harder and harder to come up with excuses for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. After a dismal second-half stretch of the 2020 season, the 39-year-old quarterback has continued his subpar play into the first six weeks of 2021.

Sadly, there are far too many Pittsburgh fans willing to turn a blind eye to his mediocrity this year. While I don’t necessarily believe that the Steelers have a better option on the team, many are quick to overrate Big Ben’s performance now that the team is on a two-game win streak.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. I thought Roethlisberger had some very nice throws against the Seahawks. There were two passes back-to-back in the second half that were some of the best throws he has made all season. However, his performance as a whole certainly wasn’t spectacular.

In addition to boasting a lower passer rating than former backup quarterback, Geno Smith — who was under constant duress — Ben also averaged a dismal 5.7 yards per attempt. When passing at least 10 yards down the field, Roethlisberger was just 4 of 12 and was very fortunate that Jamal Adams dropped an interception that hit him square in the facemask.

Against the league’s worst defense that allowed over 450 yards per game prior to Week 6, Big Ben was able to put up just 229 yards on 40 pass attempts at home on Sunday Night Football in a game that should have never had to come down to overtime.

Steelers offense must improve down the field

Losing JuJu Smith-Schuster is going to make a difference this year, but even when JuJu was available over the past two seasons, Ben Roethlisberger really struggled to do anything down the field with any level of consistency.

According to PlayerProfiler.com, Ben ranks 26th in the NFL in yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt, air yards per attempt, and deep-throw completion percentage. This is with his top receiver, Diontae Johnson, not being credited with a single drop on 50 targets this season (Pro Football Reference must have determined that the diving attempt for the low pass against Seahawks was on the quarterback).

In addition, the offensive line and running game have performed much better in recent weeks. Roethlisberger was rarely touched against the Seahawks and Ben was credited with just one sack taken on the play that he fumbled the ball trying to pump-fake.

While I see no issue with Steelers fans being optimistic, we can’t sit here and pretend that Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t been the biggest issue with this team. Dating back to last season, the Steelers have scored just 19.5 points per game over their last 12 contests — and this number includes defensive and special teams scores.

In his 18th NFL season, I really hope that Ben Roethlisberger can get things together, but his performance we saw against the Seahawks really hasn’t been any better than anything we’ve witnessed dating back to the second half of last season. If he doesn’t improve soon, Pittsburgh isn’t going to stand a legitimate shot at going anywhere in 2021.