If anyone on the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to have a good performance in Week 3, it was Broderick Jones. He had an abysmal Week 2 that saw him get benched, but fate decided to give him a second chance. Troy Fautanu suffered an injury that will likely cause him to miss most of the season, so Jones will be the starting right tackle going forward. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, he looked like he could live up to that. Mike Tomlin isn’t surprised by his ability to bounce back either.
“He did, but I’m not surprised by that,” Tomlin said during his press conference Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel. “[Jones] has a great deal of confidence in himself, particularly for a young guy.
“The performance was what it was in Denver, he didn’t make excuses or seek comfort. He simply acknowledged it and went back to work. I just think when you take that approach, you really tee yourself up for the appropriate bounce back, and he did.”
Jones did look much improved in Week 3. He still had issues in pass protection, but they weren’t as glaring as they were in Week 2. The real improvement was in cleaning up penalty issues. Against the Denver Broncos, he committed three penalties on one drive, including one that got Justin Fields’ best throw of the game called back.
That led to him getting benched, and it seems he’s intent on cleaning that aspect of his game up. He has done nothing but take accountability for his actions since that rough outing. That’s probably why Tomlin felt comfortable going back to him after Fautanu got hurt.
If there’s one thing Tomlin loves to see in his players, it’s a lack of desire to seek comfort. Most players in Jones’ shoes would’ve been down on themselves, letting their lack of confidence put them in a bad mood. Jones did not take that approach. Instead, he owned his poor play, promising to do better.
He’s still an extremely young player, at only 23 years old, so that level of maturity should be appreciated. Jones can still be a big part of this offense’s future. A rough start to the season doesn’t need to define him for the rest of the year. He still has a deep well of potential.
Tomlin also sounds confident in Jones as a starter going forward, which probably helps a young player believe in himself. Look at Fields right now. With the Chicago Bears, he looked like he would never be able to reach this level. It just took some confidence and belief in the system around him to help him improve. Perhaps Jones will follow a similar path.
