The Pittsburgh Steelers' season is at a crossroads as Week 13 of the NFL season begins, holding just a half-game lead in the AFC North. Their rival Baltimore Ravens sit at 6-6 after suffering a disastrous loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and the 6-5 Steelers can put serious pressure on them with a victory against the Buffalo Bills this week.
Doing so was never going to be easy, even with the Bills' uneven play over the past two months. They will be without both of their starting tackles against Pittsburgh, but the Steelers have a significant injury at that spot themselves.
Left tackle Broderick Jones was placed on injured reserve this week after suffering a neck injury against the Chicago Bears, and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Sunday that he will miss the remainder of the season.
It's a brutal blow to a team looking to make a push for a playoff berth, and an even worse one to a young player finally starting to put it all together.
Broderick Jones' neck injury could derail the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 season
Once one of the fanbase's biggest punching bags, Jones has quietly played some of the best football of his career over the last six games in particular. Whether you look at analytics from the ESPNs or Pro Football Focus's of the world or just watch the games yourself, you can tell that he has made serious strides since starting the season as poorly as he ever has.
After allowing four sacks in the first two games of the season, he has allowed just two more in nine games and none over the last three, according to PFF. His run blocking still leaves a lot to be desired, but he has all the tools you could ever ask for to become a great player in that phase of the game. He has even cleaned up what was a serious issue with penalties, with just one called on him this season after 10 a year ago.
Did he suddenly become a rue star at left tackle? No, but he was starting to eliminate the boneheaded plays and costly mistakes that often tanked his overall performance. There is a common saying about offensive linemen that if you aren't being talked about, you are probably doing your job well. Jones was starting to fall into that category.
Maybe Jones can continue to ascend once he is healthy, as he has all the talent in the world. For now, though, Pittsburgh must soldier on without him. Veteran Andrus Peat is set to replace him moving forward, and there is a very high probability that he fails to play at a similar level to the rising 2023 first-round pick.
Peat hasn't played at an average or better level at left tackle in nearly a decade, and he has played guard primarily during his 11 years in the NFL. With every game getting more and more important as the season winds down, how well he plays could be the deciding factor for where the Steelers end up in the standings. Here's hoping he is up for the challenge.