In the last month or so, Pittsburgh Steelers’ center Mason Cole has really taken a step forward as a blocker in the run game. He’s been a key piece to the Steelers’ offense in that regard.
But when it comes to doing something basic like snapping the football cleanly and consistently in shotgun, he’s been a mess.
That was the case Sunday at Acrisure Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. Cole had three poor snaps, one of which led to a fumble charged to backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the third quarter, setting up Cardinals’ running back James Conner’s first touchdown of the game.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin called much of the performance from the Steelers on Sunday “JV” in a lot of ways, and that included the snapping issues from Cole. But according to interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner, the Steelers aren’t going to make too big a deal out of the snapping issues other than pointing it out because they have a ton of faith and belief in Cole as a professional.
“…He’s been very consistent. We’re not going to make too big of a deal about it other than pointing it out because it was huge in the game,” Faulkner said to reporters Tuesday, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “He’s a professional. He’s going to go about his business the right way. We’re going to have faith in him doing that.”
In his first season and a half as the starting center for the Steelers, Cole has been relatively consistent, even if that consistent level of play hasn’t come at a high level. He’s been perfectly fine. Not great, not awful. Just average. It’s worked for the most part for the Steelers.
He’s had issues in pass protection at times, but he’s done well overall in the run game. The snapping issues, though, especially this season, are concerning.
Cole stated after the loss Sunday that there are no issues with him physically. It’s just been an inability to snap the football properly in big spots.
“No issues, except me,” Cole told reporters via a quote from his postgame locker room media session posted by Mike DeFabo of The Athletic on X. “It’s unacceptable. I’ve got to fix it.”
He had a low snap on an RPO in the first quarter that resulted in quarterback Kenny Pickett taking a loss on the play. Then, with the Steelers in the red zone on the first drive, Cole snapped it low again. Pickett was able to throw the ball while being hit, resulting in an incompletion, but it was concerning from Cole.
Then, in the third quarter, he sent one back to backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky at his shoestrings. Granted, Trubisky should have just jumped on the ball rather than trying to make a play resulting in the fumble, but it was an awful snap from Cole.
The Steelers don’t really have many options to make a change at this point. Nate Herbig might start Thursday in place of Isaac Seumalo, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, and there is no chance the Steelers are going to turn to seventh-round rookie Spencer Anderson at the position, especially with a backup under center.
So, it falls on Cole to get it figured out. The Steelers are putting the onus on him. He’s going to prepare and do things the right way. It’ll come down to execution.
