The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-2 after defeating the New York Jets 37-15 on Sunday night. Despite concerns about the depth and health of the offensive line, the Steelers put up over 400 yards of total offense. QB Russell Wilson made his debut for the Steelers and was only sacked once. But OT Broderick Jones was responsible for that sack, continuing his early-season struggles.
Per Pro Football Focus, Jones has allowed 5 sacks (116th out of 119 offensive tackles), taken 5 penalties (102nd), and allowed 14 total quarterback pressures (95th). We saw issues as far back as preseason when the Steelers faced the Buffalo Bills. Bills DE Greg Rousseau made Jones’ life miserable in that game (and consequently Wilson’s day). And those struggles have continued.
“Broderick Jones looks awful right now,” said Steve Palazzolo on Check The Mic’s Week 7 recap show. “The Steelers are winning and everything right now. But Broderick Jones has some of the worst reps of any tackle in the NFL right now… It’s Tebow at tight end kind of reps where he just looks lost and bad.”
Perhaps no other play sums up Jones’ struggles this season than a play against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Steelers had the ball on their own 26-yard line, facing 2nd-and-10. QB Justin Fields took the shotgun snap, and 4/5ths of the Steelers’ offensive line pass protected. Not Jones, though. He stepped forward at the snap as if thinking it was a run play. Fields faced immediate pressure but was able to scramble up the middle for close to a 15-yard gain.
Broderick Jones was like, something ain’t right here #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/fkRgEF8Gwv
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 14, 2024
Thankfully for the Steelers, Fields was able to turn Jones’ massive mistake into a first down. And that’s obviously an extreme case. Jones isn’t forgetting the play every snap or really anything like that. But he’s not playing well at all, and the sack he allowed to Will McDonald IV on Sunday night is much more emblematic of his struggles.
Jones initially made contact with McDonald but got his head out over his feet. McDonald was able to rip free to Jones’ right, and Jones never recovered, lunging in an effort to push him wide and deep past Wilson. But McDonald was able to recover and bring Wilson down for the sack on 2nd-and-20.
Will McDonald IV had a sack and it’s his eighth of the season 💪
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/YYAXGlsHB2— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Jones showed growth as a rookie playing right tackle. But all that seems to be gone at the moment. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they don’t really have anyone to turn to. Rookie OT Troy Fautanu sustained a knee injury and is on injured reserve. So Jones has got to work his way through this slump. Otherwise, whoever is playing quarterback for the Steelers will be under duress.
As for Palazzolo’s comparison, no one in the NFL wants to be mentioned in the same sentence as Tim Tebow at tight end. It was a last-ditch effort by the Jets under then-head coach Rex Ryan to find some way for Tebow to work on offense. He was targeted once and never caught a pass in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars did bring him in later to try that experiment out but released him after one preseason game.
Hopefully, for both his sake and the Steelers’ sake, Broderick Jones can recapture his 2023 form soon. Because once Tim Tebow attempted the transition to tight end, he wasn’t long for the NFL. And the Steelers need Jones to play well for a long time.
