Following the Pittsburgh Steelers latest loss to the Baltimore Ravens, fans and analysts were throwing the blame around; a lot of it going toward head coach Mike Tomlin. Watching the game, though, it was clear to see that the Steelers offensive line was struggling to get into sync. Maurkice Pouncey left the game early with a thumb injury and was replaced by backup center B.J. Finney. Besides that, the Steelers offense couldn’t find their rhythm. A first half with zero points and more penalty yards than the total offense was the main talking point, but the offense’s struggles may have come from the offensive line’s inability to live up to their expectations.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line Struggles
Coming into this season, Ben Roethlisberger claimed that he wanted the Steelers offense to average 30 points per game. Halfway through the season, the Steelers are averaging only 23 points per game, ranking them 16th in the NFL in scoring offense. Granted, the Steelers have only had Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell for less than four of their eight games this season, but all three of them played last week against the Ravens and the offense had one of its worst performances of recent memory. Some blame the poor performance on the fact that Roethlisberger wasn’t 100% and others blame Tomlin for not having the team prepared, but Roethlisberger offered another reason when speaking with 93.7 “The Fan” on Tuesday.
“It sounds crazy, but sometimes a little thing, like when B.J. Finney came in, the timing of his head bob (is different from Pouncey’s). Having a young guy like him coming in against a great defense, we started getting penalties. It’s a good defense, they got after us, and when you have two or three bad mistakes on one play, it equals a really big mistake.” Clearly the timing between Finney and Roethlisberger was off, leading to some inopportune false start penalties, but one person doesn’t define the entire offensive line.
Injuries
Some may say that the Steelers offensive line’s struggles have come from injuries, but compared to past seasons, the offensive line has been relatively healthy. The five starting offensive linemen altogether have started a total of 36 games out of a possible 40. Backup offensive tackle Chris Hubbard had to step in for the injured Marcus Gilbert and start three games earlier this season, while offensive guard David DeCastro has missed one game. Pouncey recently had surgery on his dislocated thumb but isn’t expected to miss the game against the Dallas Cowboys this week. While there have been injuries to the offensive line, there haven’t been enough to blame their poor performances on them.
Inability to Run the Ball
The Steelers offensive line has allowed an average of 1.6 sacks per game this season. While those aren’t the worst numbers, the Steelers have averaged only 96 rushing yards per game. The Steelers are known for being hard-nosed and running the ball down opponents’ throats. Bell’s early absence definitely has something to do with those numbers, but even since Bell’s return, the Steelers are only averaging 93.6 rushing yards per game. Last week against the Ravens, the Steelers were only able to rush for 36 yards, while Roethlisberger threw the ball 45 times and was sacked twice. The Steelers offensive line clearly needs to step it up in order to allow Roethlisberger to run a more balanced offense.
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