Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger is not the issue

Ben Roethlisberger has been given a lot of the blame for the Steelers’ issues, but there’s a much bigger issue that must be addressed in the 2021 NFL Draft.

After starting the 2020 NFL season 11-0, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost three of their next four games, finishing the season 12-4. After a slip toward the end of the regular season, things didn’t get better as the Steelers entered the playoffs. In their Wild Card playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, things went bad from their first offensive snap. As a result, the Browns sent the Steelers to an early playoff exit.

Much of the blame for the Steelers’ dip in production fell on their quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. A lot of football fans around the league, including Pittsburgh Steelers fans, said it’s time for Roethlisberger to retire. He just didn’t seem to have it anymore. It was time for the team to move on.

Due to the fact that Roethlisberger’s future with the Pittsburgh Steelers was in question, it only made sense we saw plenty of early mock drafts with the team selecting a quarterback in the first round.

Since then, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made the decision to bring Ben Roethlisberger back for another year. This decision isn’t to the delight of most Steelers fans. Bringing in a new, younger quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft seems like the way to go.

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I understand why drafting a new quarterback would make sense. Ben Roethlisberger is getting up there in age. He can’t zip the ball like he once did. He holds the ball too long, throwing quite a few passes that bounce off players and allow the opposing defense an easy shot at interceptions.

It’s easy to blame the quarterback for the team woes, but when you take a deeper look into the issues the Pittsburgh Steelers have, Ben Roethlisberger shouldn’t be at the top of the list.

How is Ben Roethlisberger not the issue?

Before we get into their biggest issue, let’s take a look at why Ben Roethlisberger isn’t the issue.

During the 2020 NFL season, Ben Roethlisberger completed 65.6% of his passes, while throwing for 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Those numbers resulted in a passer rating of 94.1. Those numbers may not seem great, but let’s break them down.

3,803 passing yards: Excluding the 2019 NFL season when he played just two games, Ben Roethlisberger has thrown for less than 4,000 yards in a season nine times prior to the 2020 season. While this number may not be on par with some of the premier passers in the league, this isn’t anything out of the ordinary for Roethlisberger.
33 touchdown passes: Believe it or not, his 33 touchdown passes are actually the second-highest total in a season for Big Ben. The only time he’s thrown more was during the 2018 season, when he threw 34.
10 interceptions: In 17 NFL seasons, Ben Roethlisberger has thrown more than 10 interceptions 11 times. 10 interceptions is actually a pretty low number for Ben.
94.1 passer rating: Ben Roethlisberger’s career passer rating is 94.0, so he was right on par with his career average last season. 94.1 is actually a higher rating than the 2011 (90.1) and 2017 (93.4) seasons. Roethlisberger made the Pro Bowl in both of those years.

After breaking down his 2020 stats, it’s clear Ben Roethlisberger was either on par with or better than what he’s been throughout his career. I find it hard to pin the Steelers’ issues on him when considering this.

If Ben Roethlisberger isn’t the issue, what is?

Now let’s get to the real problem. The biggest issue the Steelers had in 2020, was their running game. The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked dead last in rushing in 2020, totaling 1351 rushing yards. This averages out to 84.4 rushing yards per game. To no surprise, they also ranked dead last in yards per carry, averaging 3.6.

James Conner was the leading rusher for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020, totaling 721 yards. Benny Snell was second on the team with 368 yards. They barely got to 1,000 rushing yards between the two of them.

Pittsburgh started off the 2020 season with five straight 100-yard rushing games, but after that was not pretty. They only rushed for 100 yards as a team once more the entire season. After those five straight 100-yard rushing games, six of their next 11 games resulted in less than 50 yards rushing as a team!

As a result of the team not being able to run the ball, more was put on the shoulders of Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger threw the ball 608 times, which ties for his second-most pass attempts in a season. With the Steelers not being able to run the ball, of course it looked like everything that went wrong was Roethlisberger’s fault. Having him throw the ball was the only way the Steelers made it down the field.

This isn’t a new problem

The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t just a bad rushing team in 2020. It has been this way for a few years now. In 2019, they ranked 29th in rushing yards. In 2018, they ranked 31st in rushing yards. 2017 was the last time they didn’t rank in the bottom ten.

Roethlisberger only played in two games in 2019, but in 2018, he led the NFL in passing attempts (675) and passing yards (5129). This was because the Steelers couldn’t run the ball. All the focus was on him. He literally was the offense.

Steelers should ignore quarterback early and address this issue instead

Instead of drafting a quarterback in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Steelers should address their running game with their higher picks. By the time the Steelers go on the clock, all the quarterbacks who are actually worth a first-round pick will be long gone.

If they selected a quarterback, they’d be reaching. Yes, they need to address that position in the near future. However, Ben Roethlisberger has a lot more in the tank than most people realize. Why not help him out as much as they can while he’s still around?

Center and running back are two bigger needs the Pittsburgh Steelers should address with their early picks. Alabama’s Najee Harris would be a slam dunk pick to instantly improve their running game. Taking a center in the first round may be a reach, but if the Steelers can score a running back with their first pick, a center would be a great way to go with their second pick.

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One thing they can’t do in the 2021 NFL Draft, is get caught up in all this talk about how Ben Roethlisberger is their biggest issue. His numbers prove he’s not the issue, and the dreadful rushing numbers they posted last season back that up.

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