Ben Roethlisberger casts critical eye on first 2 starts of Steelers' season

Ben Roethlisberger didn’t don a helmet and practice with his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates, but that doesn’t mean he totally took it easy Wednesday on his customary day off.

Still unhappy with his performance three days after the Steelers beat the Denver Broncos, 26-16, Roethlisberger spent much of the practice session working on his footwork and release of his throws.

Roethlisberger worked on his movement in the pocket, an area of concern that he addressed with reporters before practice.

“My pocket presence and awareness was better,” Roethlisberger said, comparing his progress against Denver to the season opener at the New York Giants, his first game in 12 months. “I do feel I got a little lazy with my feet, which then in turn translated to a lazy arm. There were some throws that I kind of dropped my elbow, if you will.

“I don’t want to get too technical, but it became more of a three-quarter release instead of an over the top when I didn’t need to. There are obviously times you have to change your release point. There were too many throws, I felt looking back, that I just have to get my feet working better, and that will translate, hopefully, to the rest of the body. Then, I won’t be guiding some of the throws.”

The Steelers brought in a designated quarterbacks coach, former Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada, this year after offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner did double duty the previous two years.

Canada was hired to primarily work with the Steelers’ backups Mason Rudolph, Joshua Dobbs and Devlin Hodges, but wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster confirmed that Canada monitored Roethlisberger’s individual work Wednesday.

“One thing about Ben, if he doesn’t feel like he made a great enough throw, he’s really tough on himself,” Smith-Schuster said. “That’s his mentality. He always wants everything to be great and perfect. Sometimes those might not come your way. If it’s something he has to work on, obviously he’s doing that, and he’s working with the QB on how he can improve his game, he’s been doing that, too.”

Roethlisberger passed for 311 yards against the Broncos, but he was critical of the interception he threw in the third quarter and a fourth-and-2 pass in which he overthrew tight end Eric Ebron. He also threw a first-half pass into the end zone that went through the hands of a Broncos cornerback.

“I want to re-emphasize that it’s nothing that the guys are doing wrong,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s just me trusting my arm, trusting the throw and trusting that I can make it because they’re in the right spots. I’m thankful for them that they are there.”

In two games since he returned from right elbow surgery, Roethlisberger has completed 68.5% of his passes for 540 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. His 107.1 passer rating ranks No. 11, his completion percentage is No. 12, his 7.4 average per gain is No. 17.

Roethlisberger, though, has led the Steelers to a 2-0 record for the first time since 2017.

“I played a game and a half last year so, really, it’s about three and a half games in two years, if you think about it,” he said. “It will come. If I’m having these issues and we are still winning football games, that’s a plus.”