Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Takeaways vs. Lions in Week 8
3. Big Ben Remains a Little Off
Simply put, he remains one of the most prolific passers in league annals. All told, 14-year pro Ben Roethlisberger ranks ninth in NFL history in both aerial yardage (48,876) and scoring connections (311). For his career, he’s connected on 64.0 percent of his throws. And that’s why the numbers are a little disconcerting this season. Roethlisberger’s completion percentage (61.1) is his lowest since 2008. He’s thrown only one more touchdown pass (10) than interception (9) this year. And yes, we are aware that five picks came in that loss to Jacksonville.
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Some may point to an early pass to wideout Eli Rogers in the end zone that went off the young receiver’s hands. It wasn’t the greatest of throws but certainly manageable. But there was a poor pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey, also in the red zone, that should have been a touchdown. And before he and rookie Juju Smith-Schuster combined for that scintillating 97-yard score, he badly overthrew tight end Jesse James in the third quarter. Of course, all’s well that ends well for the veteran signal-caller.
Hey, take away that pick fest against the Jaguars and the numbers aren’t so bad. And considering that the Steelers are riding a three-game winning streak and are tied for the best record in the conference. But the team’s field general doesn’t look like he’s exactly on the same page with his pass-catchers. Perhaps all of this continues to be the lack of activity during the preseason. But it’s certainly something that Roethlisberger and the team needs to work on during the off week.
Next: No. 2