After a promising Week 1 victory over the Bills in Orchard Park, the Steelers have lost two in a row. And the struggles that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went through in the second half of last year have persisted into the 2021 campaign, leading some to wonder if Pittsburgh will bench its franchise icon.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, head coach Mike Tomlin is not considering a QB change — yet. La Canfora adds that the decision to make or not make such a move lies solely with Tomlin, who will not face any pressure from ownership in that regard. But Tomlin could be feeling pressure from other members of the organization, many of whom reportedly believe that a change is essential.
The Steelers started the 2020 season 11-0, and while that always felt like a bit of a mirage, Roethlisberger’s performance was at least good enough to support the club’s suffocating defense. The six-time Pro Bowler posted QB ratings of at least 98.7 in eight of his first nine games, but things went south after that. Over his final seven games, including a disastrous wildcard loss to the Browns, Roethlisberger’s rating eclipsed 100.0 only once, and his inability to push the ball down the field was a big reason for that.
As La Canfora observes, Roethlisberger is barely averaging six yards per pass attempt in his last eight contests. Plus, his lack of mobility is not only making it difficult for new OC Matt Canada to run the type of offense he wants, it is also exposing the holes of a suspect O-line and making life more difficult for the running game.
Backup Mason Rudolph has not exactly lit the world on fire during his nine professional starts, but he might at least be a better fit in Canada’s scheme. So while Roethlisberger’s job is safe for now, the 39-year-old may need to show a significant improvement to avoid being benched during Pittsburgh’s Week 7 bye.
He and the Steelers will try to get back on track in a difficult matchup against the Packers at Lambeau Field this afternoon.
Starts with the line. Would be nice if Ben could move a little more, but when you have a back like Najee who can’t get anything going either, it’s clearly not clicking up front. The common denominator is the offensive line. Was hoping the year could be like the Manning Broncos. Elite defense, led by the running game, with a hall of fame qb managing the offense. Only hope I have is it is a completely young and new line, so maybe time will allow them to become cohesive and allow the offense to do something. Super bummed. It’s bad how much sports dictates my emotions
enjoy the sports emotions… helps relieve stress…just do not do any sports betting… fantasy sports, lots of fun, just a little bit of money to risk…
Dude – You can’t run the ball when opposing teams defenses have the majority of their team within 3yrds of the ball. They k ow Ben can’t move and wants to get rid of the ball in a hurry – which means short possession passes – also tough to complete when teams have there LB’s up.
Swear they need to get Pouncey suited back up !!
And none of the Ben haters want to go back and look at the performances he put on last year. All fixated on a couple bad weeks against the Bungles and Brownies, after tons injuries depleted the D and o-line.
And even then, week 15 Ben puts on a show to defeat playoff team Colts.
Ppl want to say 11-0 against bad teams, but were the 11-5 Baltimore ravens a bad team when Ben beat them twice?
How about the 11-5 Cleveland browns? Were they just a bad team when the steelers destroyed them 38-7?
How about the AFC champion appearance Tennessee Titans? Just another bad team in a row of a false 11-0 start for the steelers and Ben?
Exactly, there was nothing fake about 11-0. Steelers defense was LIT with Bud & TJ off the edge , and o-line game Ben time to operate.
Ben doesn’t suck.. his o-line sucks. And the D had 5 guys out vs the Bengals, while looking good against the Pack at full health.
Its just crazy that a bad “footwork” line can usually move the pile and run block.
A big mailer line can have agility issues in pass protection.
BUT this STEELERS O LINE is absolute garbage at both!!!
Its inconceivable how all runs up the middle go for 1 yard max , and every drop back results in an immediate collapse off the edge.
They invested way too much faith in Zach Banner to play tackle, and he’s missed the season so far. Getting him back will pay dividends for however long it holds up this time
1 yard max is a generalization,
But I see Harris running through seams and cracks…. show me one play where the line pushes a canyon for him to run through ?
And watch some other teams, watch their QBs make reads behind a 2.5 second window, sometimes a beautiful umbrella opens up and we have QBs making 3 & 4 reads from the pocket..
Then watch Ben immediately sniffing his Right Tackles helmet off the snap every play.
Id say there’s 4-5 plays max per game where the line is giving him the BARE Minimum 1.9 seconds to take a look downfield…
Every other play he has to force the hot route
It was a mistake to bring Ben back but, at the same time, Tom Brady would look bad behind that offensive line. The Steelers will not bench Ben until they are out of mathematical playoff contention. Then he will develop a mysterious injury.
Agreed, a franchise icon deserves to be protected on the field and off. Let him ride off into the sunset with his dignity.
Ride off Into the Sunset with his dignity? I think his dignity ended when he raped that woman. His dignity ended when he stopped caring about playing and showed up overweight and out of condition. He is a slug.
You’re very angry about somebody you don’t even know. Calm down dude.
He’s always like this. This dude is a hateful bum towards Ben
Jealous of all Ben’s money and legacy?
I think he is. That, or maybe Ben stole his girl in high school. We may never know
The Steelers’ have no pro quarterbacks on their roster, thus it was a Ben or bust situation. They could have made a costly trade for someone like Matt Stafford, but with this poor O-line would it have been worth it?
Ben in week 15 with 341 yards 3 TD 0 INT against a playoff team with good defense, says hello
I just can’t see them benching him unless the wheels completely fall off and they’re either eliminated from playoff contention, or Ben gets hurt, whichever comes first. Rudolph isn’t going to do any better unless the line greatly improves.
Dumping Ben before season would have led to huge dead money number leaving us squat to replace him with. I can’t think of any QB for a few million that would have made a difference.
I agree Lou Whitaker should be in HOF.
The fact that Lou isn’t is a travesty.
definitely Lou should be in… Roger Maris as well. Who legitimately has hit even 55 HR in the last 70 years. No one is going to hit even 50 this year with dozens of sluggers.
Ben is part of the problem. You know what most teams do when their OL can’t handle pressure? They roll the QB away from the pressure, but Ben has zero mobility.
That being said Ben will never be benched considering this is his final season. Just not the way this organization does things.
And for saying Mason hasn’t been amazing in 9 starts I’d say his final one last season was a very good start with the team resting starters vs Cleveland.
And Mason will be the starter in 2022.
You honestly think rollouts are going to solve their problems? You can’t rollout every single play and signal your intentions every time-not to mention tire out your QB.
The biggest thing that everyone misses is that without Ben, that offense goes absolutely nowhere. Ben is reading the defense at the line and getting the ball out quickly. There are three other QBs in the league right now who can read defenses and call the offense accordingly at the LoS-Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Matt Ryan. Pittsburgh is relying very heavily on Roethlisberger right now-and any rookie would look terrible behind that line, the only difference is that everyone would for some reason automatically feel optimistic just because he’s younger. Point is, nobody’s going anywhere behind that line-which does not currently have a single starter from last year playing (except Dotson I think).
The best is people saying try a read option with Haskins.
Like Haskins? The guy who threw 3 INT against a 4th string defense.
Thats the guy we should replace Ben’s role with?
Or how about Mr 195 and a pick, himself? Mason Rudolph wouldn’t be missing guys downfield right?
Rudolph and Haskins are both athletic enough to roll left or right so that solves everything. Great. Great logic TJ
I think it’s being “considered”. Tomlin just decided not yet. I know Rivers said after HS football he’d be open to the right situation. But will the Steelers have enough wins to be that situation for him? Other than that, I don’t see a remedy. It’s definitely not any of their backups. Although I guess they can’t be worse than Ben has been.
Rivers is legitimately the same age as Ben, And Phil has never been known for ability to move. What makes you think, other than a slap in the face to your franchise icon, would jt make to bring river’s in…?! Zero. This OLine is the problem, If Ben is getting hit 3 seconds after snap, no wonder he is throwing it at 2-2.5 seconds after snap. Dudes terrified because this awful OLine.
lmaoooooo
Id agree with the Haskins/Newton fans looooong before id have a serious response to the notion of adding Phil Rivers.
Like have you watched a single game this season or is pass protection and the role it plays on an offense just something you don’t understand ?
Obviously its just way over your head if you think Phil Rivers can come in and contribute in any meaningful way
Ben will fall on his sword soon enough. Wide Receivers dropping like flies won’t help anyone… Haskins still has some potential and is by no means mobile, but compared to Ben, he’s Kyler Murray … would be in the teams best interest to find out what they have in Haskins before going into the offseason.
I agree. Rudolph is not the answer going forward. Haskins might not be, but there’s only one way to find out for sure.
I’m 100% sure Rudolph will see some action this year.
I still think Ben is a top-20 qb in this league, but he’s gonna get hurt the way things are going.
And already is reported to have sustained 2 semi-serious injuries so far
I also believe that if Rudolph is the starter next year , we better trade back and focus on the 2023 draft ..
I think Rudolph is definitely a solid backup who can show up from time to time , but more of a Teddy Bridgewater as a longterm solution
Changing the QB will do nothing to improve the team’s fortunes because that O-line is atrocious. They can’t even block well enough for Harris to get the run game going. The only reason to make a change would be when they decide to punt the season and evaluate Haskins and Rudolph. I don’t know how you even get an accurate assessment of them though behind that pathetic excuse for an O-line.
It’s not all on the oline, when Ben had time, he consistently missed open receivers, at least two times would have resulted in a TD. Mason Rudolf isn’t a mobile QB, but he’s more mobile than Ben and he can flat out throw it down the field. He would be a major improvement. Haskins would be worse than Ben because, although mobile, he proved he was a bad NFL QB at Washington. The only reason Ben hasn’t been benched is because of his legacy.
This was all about Ben playing in front of crowds and trying for one last chance! Let him play it out until they lose a couple more and then fake an injury to finish things off. Maybe let him start the last home game?
Rudolf will take over and actually be better because he can throw downfield but he is not going to get them out if the cellar this year or next.
It’s hard to tank with this defense but they could if they made many trades after this year.
Draft a new QB in 23 after a 2-15 season and bring in a new GM and coach in 23!