Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes he knows how to help the team’s struggling offense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been struggling mightily during the team’s recent slide of losing five of its last seven games. However, former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes he knows how to get it back on track.
Roethlisberger thinks the team should rely less on offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and more on its four-time NFL MVP quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.
“I’ve heard some things that Aaron, this last game, when they finally moved the ball, Aaron was just calling plays,” Roethlisberger said on the latest episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “Maybe it’s one of those situations where we unhook the helmet and let Aaron do his thing.”
Some of Roethlisberger’s best drives in a Steelers uniform came while playing backyard football and calling his own plays. Now he believes Pittsburgh should do the same with Rodgers.
It could certainly work. The 42-year-old has proven that he still has the ability to play at a high level this season when he and the offense find a rhythm. In 11 games, Rodgers has thrown for 2,086 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
However, the unit lacked just that during the Steelers’ Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills as they were only able to muster 166 total yards and seven points.
Only time will tell if Smith is willing to let Rodgers have a little bit more control of the offense, but it might not be a bad idea given how they’ve been playing as of late.
Roethlisberger thinks Pittsburgh needs to start trying some new things or it could be in store for an offseason full of change.
“Maybe it’s ‘clean house’ time. Maybe it is,” Roethlisberger said. “We’ve had a few offensive coordinators now, and the offense looks a lot the same. This looks a lot like Matt Canada’s offense, in terms of just like, ‘Where’s the splash? Where’s this?’”
Through 13 weeks, the Steelers offense is averaging the sixth-least total yards per game (281.7) and a middling 23.4 points per game.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Big Ben Reveals Key to Helping Steelers Struggling Offense
