Our first glimpse at the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers was quite an interesting one. This game defied essentially all the expectations placed upon it, and while the Steelers came out with a win, it sure wasn’t pretty. Potentially the ugliest part of their performance came from the offensive line.
That unit couldn’t do much of anything right. Rodgers didn’t have time to throw and got sacked four times. Even on some of his bigger completions, the Steelers had him rolling out of the pocket to get some extra time. The running game was also a non-factor, as the line couldn’t give their running backs any sort of room. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is discouraged with the unit, specifically Broderick Jones.
“What’s going on on the O-line has to be like pulling hair out,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast, posted on Tuesday. “Because you’re running for 53 yards, and you’ve given up four sacks. And with all due respect, Broderick Jones looks like a turnstile. I mean, it was bad. I don’t know how many of the sacks were on him, but it felt like there was a lot of pressure coming from that left side.”
Three of the four sacks Pittsburgh allowed came via Broderick Jones. The fourth came from a missed blitz pickup by Kenneth Gainwell. No matter where they come from, it’s inexcusable to allow your 41-year-old quarterback to be hit as often as he was. That said, Jones’ situation is especially concerning.
Some have given him a pass after the Steelers had him flip-flop across the line the last couple of years. However, he’s had a full offseason to get used to left tackle again and even came to training camp in better shape than we’ve seen from him in the past. And yet, his performance on Sunday didn’t show any signs of improvement.
It wasn’t just Jones, though. The entire offensive line struggled to set the tone, making the Steelers’ offense one-dimensional. Thankfully, they got some of their best quarterback play in years to help them get over the hump.
Still, Roethlisberger isn’t sure how long that will last if the line can’t protect Rodgers.
“I’m very encouraged by the way Aaron played,” Roethlisberger said. “My concern is going to be, moving forward, can Aaron take a beating like that every week? Not at that age… If that doesn’t improve, we’re not gonna have a quarterback very long, and it’s gonna be a rough season.”
The Jets have a talented front seven, but it’s not like the matchups get easier for the Steelers from here on out. The Steelers still have to play Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson twice each in their own division. Then, they’ve also got players like Micah Parsons and Aiden Hutchinson.
Rodgers played terrifically, but the way in which the Steelers won was not sustainable. There were plenty of positives to take from that win. However, if the offensive line doesn’t improve, they might not be positive for much longer.
