Nov 13, 2020 5 min read

Where’s the deep ball?

That’s been a common question among Steelers fans this season, as Ben Roethlisberger has struggled with his deep passes.

According to Pro Football Focus, Roethlisberger has completed only 11 of 35 pass attempts that have been 20 or more yards downfield. That’s right in line with Mason Rudolph’s numbers on deep passes last season, when he was 10-of-31.

But this is nothing new for Roethlisberger. In his last full season (2018) the future Hall of Fame quarterback completed only 33.9 percent of his deep passes. And he led the NFL in passing yardage that season.

That was down from a 41.9 percent completion rate on deep passes in 2017.

The bottom line is, Roethlisberger’s touch on the deep passes isn’t what it once was, especially coming back from an elbow surgery that cost him almost all of 2019.

That’s not outside the norm for 38-year-old quarterbacks. Tom Brady and Drew Brees have struggled on deep passes the past few years.

But, like Brady and Brees, Roethlisberger doesn’t need to go deep to be effective. He’s completing 68.1 percent of his passes this season. That’s a career-high. He’s also thrown 18 touchdown passes with just four interceptions.

The less often that you go deep, the fewer passes get intercepted.

Roethlisberger is on pace for a career-high 36 touchdown passes and just under 4,000 yards. And, oh by the way, the Steelers are 8-0, with Roethlisberger being a big reason for that.

Roethlisberger is getting rid of the ball in a ridiculous 2.27 seconds per pass attempt, the fastest in the league.

He’s winning with his above-the-neck game. And that part of his game isn’t going anywhere.

• Do you think if Brady or Brees had 18 touchdown passes and just four interceptions and their team was unbeaten that they would be the frontrunner for NFL MVP?

Just asking for a friend.

• The Steelers really need cornerback Mike Hilton and nose tackle Tyson Alualu back on defense.

They’ve allowed 409 rushing yards in the past two weeks without those two. In their previous six games, the Steelers allowed 413 yards on the ground.

Alualu’s absence makes sense in the running game. But Hilton? You don’t often see a missing cornerback making a difference in the run game. But Hilton is so effective in that part of the game that he’s like having another linebacker on the field. One of the ways the Steelers have tried to cover for not having Hilton on the field is to use reserve outside linebacker Alex Highsmith in his place in some packages.

• Somebody might want to tell James Franklin this is football season, not basketball. How else to explain Penn State losing to both Indiana and Maryland?

This week’s picks

Steelers (minus 7) over Bengals: This game is off the board at most sports books because of the unknown status of Roethlisberger. Don’t worry, he’s expected to play. Even if he doesn’t, the Steelers would be favored because the Bengals don’t protect the quarterback, having allowed 28 sacks. And there’s no Joe Mixon at running back to protect Joe Burrow, either. Burrow is a good, young prospect. But he’s still a young prospect. He’ll be in over his head against this defense. Take the Steelers, 30-17

Ravens (minus 7) at Patriots: This line is a gift. The Patriots are not a good offensive football team. And their strength in 2019, the defense, just isn’t that good, either. The Ravens should rout the Patriots, even in Foxborough. Take the Ravens, 27-10

Browns (minus 3½) over Texans: If the Texans had any kind of defense, then they would be the pick. But their run defense is awful, making them a bad matchup for the Browns, who will get Nick Chubb back for this game. Deshaun Watson and company will keep it close, but not close enough. Take the Browns, 28-24

Eagles (minus 3) over Giants: Philadelphia is coming off a bye and is getting healthy. They’re the best team in the NFC East – for what that’s worth – and get a chance to prove it this week against the Giants. Somebody has to win this division and a win here at least gets the Eagles to .500. Take the Eagles, 26-20

Chargers (plus 1) over Dolphins: Justin Herbert vs. Tua Tagovailoa in a battle that could be one that helps define the AFC for the next decade. At least that’s what both teams hope. Herbert has been starting longer and has been the better player thus far, despite being selected one pick after Tagovailoa. He gets the win here. Take the Chargers, 24-20

Last Week: 0-5 (ouch!) Overall: 24-18-3 ATS