In the buildup to the Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium, a lot of focus was placed on Browns’ star pass rusher Myles Garrett. Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones was going to have his hands full, even with the Steelers repeatedly stating that they’d have a plan in place for Garrett.
That plan ultimately worked to near perfection as the Steelers limited Garrett to just two assisted tackles and one pressure in the Steelers’ 23-9 win.Â
And yet, despite Garrett largely being invisible for the entire game, he earned an elite grade from Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Jones was buried by PFF in the process.Â
According to PFF, Garrett graded out at an 89.9 overall, including a 91.2 pass rush grade. Again, Garrett had just one pressure in 24 pass rush reps. That’s a lofty grade for a guy who did next to nothing.
For Jones, he graded out at 42.4 overall, including a 16.7 as a pass blocker. Yet he allowed just one pressure in 31 pass blocking reps.
Something doesn’t quite add up.
The Steelers were smart and rolled the pocket away from Garrett several times. Rodgers also got the ball out quickly throughout the game, averaging 2.65 seconds to throw for the afternoon. But still, PFF crushed Jones and gave a ton of credit to Garrett.
Did that actually line up on film? Let’s dive into Jones’ performance in the Steelers’ win.
The Good
If you went into the matchup against the Browns and Garrett expecting Jones to look like Laremy Tunsil or Trent Williams as one of the best left tackles in football, you were already setting yourself up for failure.
Jones is still adjusting to the position after two years at right tackle and is still maturing, too. He’s young and growth isn’t a linear process. But on Sunday, he showed some positive signs and earned praise from Rodgers in the process.
Communication was up and down between Jones, guard Isaac Seumalo, and extra blockers like Spencer Anderson, Jaylen Warren, and Darnell Washington throughout the game. Still, I thought Jones handled stunts on his side very well, passing them off and picking up the interior lineman in the process.
These are two solid reps for Jones. He picked up the interior pass rusher with good positioning and technique, stopped the rush, and kept the pocket clean around Rodgers. He was able to communicate that a guy like Garrett was looping around, aiming to attack the interior of the Steelers’ offensive line.
When he found himself in 1-on-1 pass blocking reps, he had more success than many are giving him credit for.
Good rep here to set the edge in the rush from Cameron Thomas.
Jones’ pad level is a bit high initially, but he recovers well, even with Thomas’ hands in his chest. He then sinks into his hips, stopping the pass rusher in his tracks. That creates a clean pocket for Rodgers to operate from, though Rodgers fades away on the throw due to pressure allowed by tight end Jonnu Smith.
It should have been a touchdown.
I thought Jones handled Garrett’s speed rush really well here, too.
Garrett can levitate and change directions in the blink of an eye. He can jump gap-to-gap without slowing down and can give linemen fits. Jones handles this one well, though, reading it properly and staying with Garrett, working him up the field and running him around the arc, protecting Rodgers in the process.Â
Fortunately, the ball comes out quickly. But considering how Garrett has made tackles look in situations like this before, that’s a positive rep from Jones.
So, too, is this one.
Jones eats the bull rush here from Garrett, stopping him quickly, utilizing the hop technique to sink into his hips and slow down Garrett. That’s a good rep from the young tackle against one of the best pass rushers in the game.
Again, Jones was much better than given credit for by the advanced analytics.
The Bad
Though there was plenty of good from Jones on Sunday, there was some bad, making for about an average day for the third-year offensive tackle.
He saved his worst rep against Garrett for his last.
On a run play, Jones barely oversets outside and gives up the lane inside to Garrett. That sliver of space is all a freak athlete like Garrett needs, and he knifed inside for the assisted tackle with Alex Wright, blowing up the run play.
As I wrote earlier, communication was up and down along the offensive line throughout the game. At times, they were good at communicating clearly and passing protection assignments off. Other times, they let guys rush free and clear, like Jones does here.
You’ve got Garrett running a stunt inside to rush over Isaac Seumalo. Jaylen Warren is chipping linebacker Devin Bush and releasing into the flat, and then linebacker Carson Schwesinger is blitzing from his spot off the ball.
The stunt from Garrett likely throws Jones off, so he looks outside for Bush. In the process, he fails to account for the rookie linebacker and gives him a free lane to Rodgers. Fortunately, Schwesinger doesn’t hit Rodgers, because it could have been a bad one with that much of a runway.
This rep came early in the game against Garrett. It was Jones’ only pressure of the game, and it was his own fault.
He has help to his left with Warren as the chipper. Yet Jones oversets outside, giving up the inside gap that Garrett attacks, avoiding the chip.
In the process, Garrett darts upfield, forcing Rodgers to get rid of the ball quickly. It’s all technique and positioning with Jones. If he can clean it up and become more consistent, he’ll be just fine. But there’s a mental block at times, like there was here.
He has to know help is there and not overset outside, opening up the inside.
Technique and pad level are the problems with Jones when it goes poorly. He can be too high, out over his toes, and not playing with that physicality that he’s shown at times in his young career. And when that happens, he can get tossed aside like he does here by Shelby Harris.
Fortunately, that ball comes out quickly, but it was a good reminder that with some of the good Jones can bring in games, there’s still some of the frustrating bad.
Overall, I thought Jones was steady on Sunday. Some good, some bad, but nowhere near the negative that PFF graded him out to be. Sure, he got some help, but what tackle doesn’t get help against Myles Garrett, both from a scheme and extra personnel standpoint?
Jones rose to the occasion and had a passable game. He deserves credit for that after being under the spotlight all week.Â
