Pittsburgh Steelers fans probably wish they could forget the 2020 season. What started as an 11-0 dream ended in a disastrous 1-5 finish, including their devastating 48-37 playoff defeat at the hands of the rival Cleveland Browns. Instead of going on one more playoff run with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, the season ended in utter misery.
Fast forward to the present day, and it's still a sore spot for many Steelers supporters (and players). One of those players is former Steelers tight end Eric Ebron, who recently appeared on the Raw Room podcast hosted by fellow NFL vets Daren Bates, Jalen Collins, and King Dunlap.
Among the many things they discussed was what caused the Steelers' 2020 season to fall apart the way it did. His answer was surprisingly honest, if not a bit simple.
"We had a meeting. Ben [Roethlisberger] called all the starters into the meeting, he was like 'Fellas, my knees is getting bad. I'm not gon be able to get under center,'" Ebron said.
Eric Ebron reveals that Ben Roethlisberger's knees may have been the downfall of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2020 season
It's no secret that Roethlisberger hit a wall at the end of that season. At 38 years old, he was no longer the seemingly untackleable force he was in his prime. But Ebron went on to further explain why it became something the offense could no longer overcome.
"It [running entirely out of shotgun] makes it very obvious for the defense," Ebron added. "When you running outta shotgun, you already five yards, six yards behind the eight ball."
He also brought up the fact that teams could send the house without the threat of under-center play action, something that severely limited the Steelers' ability to keep defenses honest. It all makes sense from a logical perspective, but is that really the reason why things fell apart after the 11-0 start?
The answer is no, even if it played a big part. The reality, though, at least in my opinion, is that they were simply running through far inferior teams for most of the season. During their 11-0 start, they only played four teams who finished the season with a winning record, with two of those games coming against the rival Baltimore Ravens.
Whether the meeting Ebron claims he was a part of happened or not, or if Ben really did reach a point where his knees prevented him from playing under center, the 2020 season was a disaster for too many reasons to count. Hopefully, the 2026 season doesn't end up the same way with another past-his-prime QB running the show.
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