Every successful NFL team needs someone doing the dirty work—the guy willing to do not what others can’t but what others won’t. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that’s Ben Skowronek, and it was on full display in the Steelers’ Week One win over the New York Jets. His touchdown was the most obvious contribution, but it was hardly the only one. Let’s break down the film.
Receiver
Starting with his touchdown. Skowronek’s lone catch was key for the Steelers’ first touchdown of the 2025 season. A great playcall from OC Arthur Smith, Skowronek runs an over route working left to right as the No. 2 receiver to the field side. Aaron Rodgers’ playfake brings down the linebackers, and Skowronek is wide open behind, comfortably running in for the score.
Blocker
Skowronek’s performance was much more than that catch. Though the team’s No. 4 receiver, Skowronek has been a focus in the running game. Last year, that came in plenty of 13-personnel groupings. Sunday, he was used in a variety of personnel groupings. Pittsburgh ran variations of its Zorro run scheme, normally a toss play with a motion player doubling the frontside DE with a tight end.
Here, the Steelers run it as a stretch play out of shotgun with Skowronek going in motion. Full-seed, he flies into RDE Will McDonald. The force of the block knocks McDonald, LT Broderick Jones, and himself to the ground. RB Jaylen Warren is able to turn the corner, and even though the run doesn’t go for much, it’s an all-out effort play from Skowronek.
Pittsburgh used Skowronek on a couple of insert blocks. Here, he folds down into the C-gap between tight end and left tackle and basically “takes” two, sealing off No. 8 and No. 30. WR Calvin Austin III also gets in on the play, but Skowronek did most of the heavy lifting here. Coupled with TE Darnell Washington’s block, there’s a lane for Warren to pick up a handful of yards. It was one of his better outputs on a tough day overall.
Another insert block. Aligned to the right of Washington, he folds inside into the C-gap on the snap. Skowronek climbs upfield and takes on the safety crashing down. Warren follows and churns forward for a solid pickup.
Skowronek impacted the pass game, too. Here, the Steelers run an RPO (run/pass option). Skowronek and Metcalf are stacked to the bottom. Rodgers hits Metcalf on the swing/bubble with Skowronek blocking out in front on CB Sauce Gardner. Metcalf does well to make the unblocked Jets’ defender miss, but Skowronek provides the block on Gardner to open up a runway—great job running his feet the whole way until Metcalf is well past.
Metcalf showcases his unique second gear to break away into the open field and pick up a ton of yards.
Special Teamer
Skowronek was first added to the roster last year because of his special teams value. Pittsburgh needed starting gunners after failing to find any internal answers during the 2024 preseason. CB James Pierre returned, and Skowronek was added to the practice squad.
He had a big moment on this 50-yard punt by Corliss Waitman. Taking advantage of being singled up with the Jets’ jammer, Skowronek wins cleanly off the line and then dips the jammer to meet the returner at the 15. He forces a fair catch, creating a 50-yard net punt—an elite number.
If Skowronek can’t force the fair catch, this will be a sizable return. No other Steeler is within 20 yards of the Jets’ returner. That gap naturally closes on a return, but there’s a clear runway and at least a 10-yard return for New York here. The difference between a 40 and 50-yard net is massive.
Add in a special teams tackle for good measure. After Pittsburgh got gashed for a long return, Skowronek ran through his block and made a great form open field tackle inside the 35-yard-line. From the left, he is the third man in.
Skowronek’s most memorable special teams play came recovering RB Kenneth Gainwell’s forced fumble.
Gainwell gets the majority of the credit here, but Skowronek deserves praise, too. He stayed clean, worked through the block, and was ball-aware to fall on it and make the play—a true turning point of the Steelers’ win.
Final Thoughts
Skowronek’s impact went much deeper than the box score. It’s easy to see why Pittsburgh made sure to keep him around this offseason. He does the little things in big ways, and that’s an essential ingredient to winning, especially in close games like these.
