One of the big stories over the first two weeks of the preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers was the disappointing play of the starting offensive line. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were each sacked three times each, which was a large reason the offense could never get into rhythm. That changed in the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions.
The first two offensive drives resulted in touchdowns. One led by Wilson, the other by Fields. But as the quarterbacks switched out, the first-team offensive line remained in the game for both drives. No play best showed their improvement from the two weeks prior than the third-down conversion to George Pickens on the opening drive.
Wilson gave a lot of credit to the offensive line for the play that resulted in a 29-yard completion to Pickens.
“They matched [Pickens] up man-to-man. He did a great job of winning,” Wilson said in a video posted on the Steelers’ YouTube page. “The protection and the time that I had on that play was really good by guys up front.”
I don’t have official snap-to-throw numbers yet, but my at-home estimation is about 3.31 seconds for Wilson on that play. That may not seem like much, but that is about 25 percent longer than the average snap-to-throw time. Wilson had a very clean pocket, and probably could have waited another second or so before facing any serious pressure. You can see Wilson get through multiple steps in his progression before pulling the trigger on Pickens for a big conversion.
With Wilson and Fields having the longest snap-to-throw times in the NFL last season, the line needs to get used to these extended plays.
Wilson was interviewed on the sideline during the game by Missi Matthews and talked about the offense stepping up to the plate and blocking out the noise. Especially after last week, Wilson and the offense felt a lot of “noise” coming from the media. A lot of that noise was directed at the offensive line, particularly OT Broderick Jones.
It is tough to give a complete grade without watching through the All-22 tape, but Wilson and Fields were both kept upright during the two scoring drives to open the game. Fields ended up taking two sacks, but one was allowed by Devery Hamilton, who is unlikely to make the roster. Another was the result of a premature snap by Zach Frazier in shotgun.
Jones didn’t play a perfect game, but he was more aggressive with his punches in pass protection and didn’t get exposed like he did against the Bills last week.
The Lions did not play their starters, so the o-line had the benefit of playing against lesser competition. That being said, it was a nice turnaround and a good confidence booster to enter the regular season in just a couple weeks.
