In 2025, the Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten a mixed bag from new starting left tackle Broderick Jones. In his third season, Jones flipped to the left side to permanently man Aaron Rodgers’ blindside, and early results were far from favorable.
On the first snap of the season, Jones allowed a sack. He’s since allowed three more sacks and 10 total pressures, a harsh stat line through just four games.
This week, Jones draws the toughest task the AFC North has to offer its offensive lineman (outside of T.J. Watt, of course), blocking the Cleveland Browns’ all-world pass rusher, Myles Garrett. Despite Jones’ struggles and the challenge awaiting him this Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t worried about his young left tackle this week.
Mike Tomlin explains the foundation of his confidence in Pittsburgh Steelers' Broderick Jones
“I think Broderick is not a dummy. He realizes who he’s competing against this week, and he’s a competitor and a professional,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “So I haven’t spent any time thinking about how I’m going to talk to or motivate Broderick this week.”
Tomlin’s confidence may appear misplaced on the surface, but in truth, it’s rooted in Jones’ growth through the first four weeks. Of those four sacks and 10 pressures he’s allowed this season, none of those sacks and just three pressures have come in the past two contests.
That hasn’t been a total reflection of the opposition either. The New England Patriots came into Week 3 as the NFL leader in sacks. In Week 4, Brian Flores’ blitz-happy Vikings defense was the challenge, and still, Jones put in a solid performance in Ireland. The lone excuse for that contest was the absence of Andrew Van Ginkel, but it’s not as though Minnesota’s defense isn’t more of a product of Flores’ scheme than overall talent anyway.
READ MORE: Updated AFC standings just revealed a dream scenario for Steelers
All of that is not to say that Jones’ struggles have been washed away. He’s played two good games and two bad games. After the BYE Week, his rubber match is against one of the NFL’s top pass-rushing specialists, so any concern coming from the Steelers fanbase heading into the matchup is certainly warranted.
There’s no doubt Jones has a tough challenge ahead of him this week, but to Tomlin’s point, such is life in the AFC North for a left tackle. Garrett has 13 total sacks against Pittsburgh in his career, and six of them have come in the past three matchups.
Still, Jones struggled early in the season last year at right tackle. Slow starts have, unfortunately, been a common theme of his career. However, in that same vein, finishing stronger has been a consistent theme as well. A strong performance against Garrett and the Browns’ defense goes a long way in keeping that trend rolling, if he can meet the challenge.