It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Steelers offensive line set a franchise record for consecutive games without allowing a sack. During that time, the line didn’t allow Ben Roethlisberger to be sacked, a streak of 261 pass attempts.
That also equated to the second-longest streak of snaps without allowing a sack in NFL history. The Steelers have allowed only 12 sacks all season, four fewer than any other team in the league.
The elite pass protection has been a basic tenet of the Steelers’ offensive philosophy this season: get the ball out quick and into the hands of the unit’s top playmakers, all while keeping their 38-year-old quarterback who is coming off major elbow surgery healthy.
But the pass protection hasn’t been as solid the past two weeks and is starting to show some cracks. The Bills broke the streak when they took Roethlisberger down, and they hit him another four times. The Bengals, who are one of the worst defenses in the league, got to Roethlisberger more than any other team this season. They sacked him once and hit him a season-high nine times. And on many other occasions he was hurried into making an early throw.
“I don’t know if he’s noticed it more,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. “He has been pressured more.”
The Bengals were not the first team to bring more blitzes on Roethlisberger, who faced more four-man rushes earlier in the season. Buffalo also brought pressures and had success in forcing Roethlisberger into his throws early.
“You go through ebb and flow in your career,” Fichtner said. “Do we pressure this guy because he’s going to stand in there and make the throw? Or do we not pressure this guy and play a lot of coverage and maybe he’ll throw one or two to the other team?
“You’re starting to see a little mix of both. Cincinnati, nothing to lose, they brought various pressures, various opportunities for nickel pressures, linebacker pressures, things like that. I’ve been around him long enough. He knows who’s around him, but I don’t know if he’s ever really looked at it. I would say that would not be a fair assessment that he’s worried or concerned or watching protections.”
When asked if the Steelers offense, which is built around the short passing game, can continue to be effective if Roethlisberger is under so much duress, center Maurkice Pouncey replied: “We won 11 games with it, so I don’t know. I got hit like 58 times in that game.”
‘Everyone can shut up’
Pouncey wasn’t in the mood to discuss any of the line’s shortcomings. The Steelers enter Sunday’s game against Indianapolis ranked 31st in the league in rushing, and his head coach and offensive coordinator have been on record saying the offense has to be more physical in recent weeks.
When Pouncey was asked about how the linemen can be more physical and improve their play, he said: “We have to lock on blocks better. You have to be able to double-team guys. You have to get on guys and actually hit the right holes. There are a lot of things that play into it. … Hopefully we get a couple of wins coming up, and everyone can shut up.”
Pouncey said the “small details” are derailing the offense during the recent slump.
“Other teams have been getting up on us, and we haven’t been able to come back,” he said. “I know we should be playing a lot better. We’re really focused on this week. In the game of football, people get it confused. It’s all within the flow of the game. You have to convert third downs. It’s not about being one-dimensional and things.
“Me being here a long time I realize that and understand some things about football. I wish there were some of these stories when we were winning 11 games and things could have been fixed then, but no one was writing those stories. I get it. You guys have to write the stories people are down and out right now. But we’ll get it together. Trust me.”
Pouncey is actually wrong about that. There were plenty of stories written about some inefficiencies in the offense when the Steelers were undefeated, specifically on how the lack of a strong running game might eventually catch up to them.
Keith Butler has been on the coaching staff since 2003. He’s been to three Super Bowls and has two rings. He understands the Steelers have clinched a playoff berth, but he said the team had better come out with a sense of urgency to start playing better because it’s hard to simply turn it on in the postseason.
“The times we’ve been successful here, getting into the playoffs, going to the Super Bowl, winning the Super Bowl is when we’ve been hot going into the playoffs,” said Butler, who has been the defensive coordinator since 2015. “Do we have to be? No, we don’t necessarily have to be, but you would like to do that.
“To me, the intensity level raises from the regular season to the playoffs. There is a big difference in terms of intensity. The game is a little quicker and more intense. For us, we need to start playing our best ball. We have to continually get better every game. That’s offense, defenses and special teams. This is one of the better football teams we’ve played. This is a playoff contender right here. We have to see where we’re at. We need to play well.”
Injury update
Defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt did not practice for a second consecutive day due to a back injury. Linebackers Marcus Allen (stringer), Ulysees Gilbert (ankle) and Ola Adeniyi (shoulder) also missed practice for a second time this week.
Place kicker Chris Boswell was added to the injury report with a groin injury. He was limited after going through a full practice Wednesday. Boswell missed a game a few weeks ago with what was described as a hip injury.
It’s looking like running back James Conner will play Sunday after missing the Cincinnati game with a quad injury. He was a full participant for the second day in a row. Also, Eric Ebron returned to practice after missing Wednesday with a back injury.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: December 24, 2020, 7:17 p.m.
