Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Questions Arthur Smith's Offense For Not Helping Offensive Line With Simple Fix

The Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting at 2-1 through the first three weeks of the 2025 NFL season, which ties for first place in the AFC North. While the record and standing in the division sounds good, there have been plenty of concerns throughout these first three games that has Steeler Nation worrying. 

One of the biggest concerns so far has been the Steelers' offensive line, and their ability to protect 41 year old quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was sacked 7 times in the first two weeks, but the offensive line kept him clean in Week 3. Despite that, there were still concerns. 

Rodgers has one of the fastest times to throw in the NFL, and that is likely due to the concern that the offensive line can't protect him long enough to hold onto the ball. However, the offensive line isn't getting much help from the scheme being implemented by Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. 

During his most recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger discussed the status of the offensive line and his concerns around their ability to protect Rodgers. According to him, there should be a simple fix. 

"As for the adjustments you can make in game when it comes to blocking, I don't know if Arthur Smith's offense maybe doesn't have it, but it was super easy when we were playing," said Roethlisberger. "We would just call the protection with a chip, put a chip on it. That tells the back to go chip that guy."

Having a running back or one of their tight ends (which the team is currently also underutilizing in the passing game), help out the offensive line by chipping on the edge before getting out into their routes could go a long way to giving Rodgers some additional time in the pocket. Roethlisberger mentions that it was very easy for the offenses he was a part of to add on a chip to the protection scheme, and it would be surprising if that wasn't the case for Smith's offense as well. However, the Steelers still aren't doing it on a frequent enough rate. 

Warren's contributions as a receiver might be playing a large role into why Smith and Rodgers haven't leaned heavily on his ability to block to this point. However, despite Warren's ability to contribute as a receiver, he should be utilized more frequently to help Rodgers get the ball to the other play-makers in the offense by having time to push the ball down the field. 

The Steelers' offensive line has struggled thus far, but they did manage to show signs of life by not allowing a sack in Week 3. Should that trend continue, maybe needing chips at a higher rate won't be needed. However, until that is proven, the team should reconsider their current strategy. 

Steelers Are Underutilizing Their Best Offensive Position Group

Coming into the 2025 NFL season, the offensive position group that had the most optimism around them was the tight end group. Incumbent tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington were already one of the better pairings in the league because of their complementary skill sets. Trading for Jonnu Smith in the offseason, who had the third most receptions for tight ends in 2024, was supposed to make the tight end group elite. 

However, to this point in 2025, the tight end group has been massively underutilized. The group has combined for a total of 130 receiving yards and have mostly been used on outlets and short passes within 5 yards. There has been a lot left to be desired for the Steelers' offensive consistency to this point, and getting the tight end group more involved and start having them make plays down the field can flip the script.