4 Downs: Ben Roethlisberger’s gone, but Steelers still use quick passes with Mitch Trubisky

1. Quick to the draw

Much was made last season about how quickly Ben Roethlisberger got rid of the ball after receiving a snap. And while the Mitch Trubisky debut as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback didn’t quite match Big Ben’s pace, it still was an exercise in quick passes.

Only seven of the NFL’s other 31 Week 1 starting quarterbacks had a shorter average elapsed time from the time of snap to passes thrown than Trubisky (2.64 seconds). Roethlisberger led the league in quickest average time from snap to throw in each of his final two seasons in the NFL (2.38-seconds average in 2021; 2.3 in 2020).

While the Steelers’ quick passing game in recent seasons, in part, has been explained by struggles along the offensive line, Trubisky’s average time to throw has remained remarkably consistent over his career: 2.66 seconds in 2020 (the most recent time he was a starter), 2.64 in 2019, 2.66 in 2018 and 2.7 as a rookie in 2017.

2. Passing grade

Trubisky was sacked only once, leading to some plaudits that the Steelers offensive line was better in pass protection than perhaps was expected. Some of the more advanced analysis supports that notion.

Pro Football Focus graded the Steelers as the NFL’s second-best pass blockers in Week 1, based on its relatively simple formula for “pass block efficiency.” PFF counted four “pressures” of Trubisky (the subjectivity comes in defining a “pressure”) among 40 Steelers passing snaps — three QB hits and one hurry.

ESPN’s formula for “pass block win rate” (if a pass rusher is held off for 2.5 seconds or longer) wasn’t as kind to the Steelers, but it still was near league average, ranking 19th. ESPN’s data suggested neither right tackle Chuks Okorafor nor right guard James Daniels was beat in pass blocking against the Bengals.

PFF’s grades were kind to all five Steelers offensive linemen in pass protection. All ranked among the top half of their respective positions in the category: Mason Cole graded 14th among 33 qualifying centers; Daniels graded 12th and left guard Kevin Dotson 33rd among 66 guards; and Okorafor 29th and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. 16th among 65 tackles.

PFF reports none of the starting five allowed more than one QB pressure. Daniels did not allow one.

3. Pat’s no patsy

Pat Freiermuth was among the most productive NFL rookie tight ends over recent years in 2021. His 2022 debut suggests he could rightfully begin to be mentioned with the league’s best tight ends, regardless of experience.

Only four tight ends played a higher percentage of their team’s offensive snaps in Week 1 than Freiermuth, who was on the field for 89% of the Steelers’ 63 snaps. Only two caught more passes than Freiermuth (five), and three had more receiving yards (75). Just five tight ends in Week 1 had more yards after the catch than Freiermuth’s 28, and just three had more “air yards” in completions to him than Freiermuth’s 47.

Per PFF, only Travis Kelce had a better yards per route run than Freiermuth among tight ends who were targeted at least five times during Week 1. Yards per route run perhaps best expresses efficiency of production from pass-catchers.

No NFL tight end during Week 1 was used more out of the traditional “in line” tight end spot than Freiermuth, who was there for 76.9% of his snaps played.

4. Tough to Chase down

Sixteen games, 32 teams, approaching 2,000 opportunities for players to carry the ball in Week 1 across the NFL.

And nobody did so at a faster speed than Chase Claypool. According to Next Gen Stats, Claypool reached 21.46 mph on a 12-yard run on jet sweep late in overtime during the Steelers’ drive that resulted in a Chris Boswell missed field goal. That was by far the fastest a ball carrier ran in Week 1. The Bengals’ Joe Mixon reached 21.1 mph on a first-half 31-yard carry in that game, and the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley also ran 21.1 mph on a long run during his team’s win against the Tennessee Titans.