Prior to the season opener, Roethlisberger hadn’t played in a game in 364 days. Eric Ebron and Chase Claypool had never played a snap for this offense. The right side of the Steelers offensive line had four combined starts coming into Sunday’s contest.
Ben was critical of his performance from Sunday. For good reason. He had one turnover and had another potential interception clang off the hands of a Broncos’ defender. Benny Snell and Diontae Johnson fumbled.
They weren’t perfect. Far from it.
The offense is going to be a work in progress. It was to be expected.
But consider where they are now compared to where they were last year.
The Steelers have scored 52 combined points in their first two games of 2020. They scored 53 combined points in their last four games of the 2019 season.
And yet we’re bitching about the offense? Perspective, folks.
The Steelers are averaging 26 points per game. Last year, they average 18.1.
The Steelers are averaging 379.5 yards per game over their first two games. Last year, they averaged 276.8 yards per game.
This year, the Steelers are averaging 125 yards per game on the ground. Last year, they averaged 90.
This year, the Steelers are averaging 254.5 passing yards per game. Last year? It was 186.3.
Ben Roethlisberger and his mates have a ton of work to get to where they want to be with this unit. That shouldn't be a surprise given where this team was last year on offense.