Steelers offensive line taking baby steps toward improvement

During the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season opener at Buffalo, 11 of Najee Harris’ 16 carries went for 2 or fewer yards.

During the Steelers’ game last week at Green Bay, just three of Harris’ 15 carries went for fewer than 2, and one of those was a 1-yard touchdown.

For a Steelers offensive line that still is considered one of the worst in the NFL, that, at least, is tangible progress.

“I thought we were more efficient last week than we had been,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “Not where we wanna be just yet, but I do think there was some efficiency that was improving.”

NFL statistical website Footballoutsiders.com still says the Steelers are last in the NFL in its all-encompassing metric “adjusted line yards.” The Steelers also still rank 27th in the NFL in Pro Football Focus grades for run blocking (albeit PFF puts the Steelers among the top six in the league in pass blocking).

But by the eye test and the statistics, the proverbial arrow is pointing up for the offensive line, a unit that was looked upon as potentially dragging down the entire offense and, by extension, team.

So far, the line has done nothing to disprove that. But for a unit that is starting two rookies, a player who entered the season with four career starts and had a fourth member who was signed as a free agent in June, it can be said that baby steps are being made.

“We’re all getting a little more comfortable with each other,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “I know that we’re losing in the midst of it, which isn’t fun, but as you grow and learn about each other, you hope that wins start formulating out of it. I think they will.”

Coach Mike Tomlin has offered an overall stay-the-course mentality to righting the ship after the Steelers’ 1-3 start. He and other coaches haven’t made changes to personnel on the offensive line because of performance.

But right tackle Chuks Okorafor missed the Packers game because of a concussion (he’s back for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos), and rookie center Kendrick Green, second-year left guard Kevin Dotson and veteran right guard Trai Turner have missed parts of games because of injuries.

That isn’t ideal for a unit that entered the season in need of reps together to build cohesion.

“We just hope to jell and do all the things necessary to come together as a group,” offensive line coach Adrian Klemm said. “It’s the one position group on the field that has to work in unison. One guy breaks down, then the whole group breaks down.”

That seemingly has happened too often for a team that ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards and first in the NFL in quickest time-to-throw.

While the latter number isn’t necessarily a reflection of an offensive line’s effectiveness, there have been plenty of times when the 39-year-old, increasingly less-mobile Roethlisberger has gotten rid of the ball before he wanted to — or before what would be ideal — because of pressure from opposing defenders.

“We are not where we want to be,” Green said, “(but) we took a step in the right direction.”

Official NFL stats report that after Roethlisberger was “hit” a season-high 10 times in the previous week’s loss to Cincinnati that he was hit “only” five times this past week by the Packers.

“We still think five is too many,” Green said, “right?”

The formula for success for the 2021 Steelers never was to depend on the offense, and it certainly wasn’t to rely on the young offensive line. But the unit, by its own admission, needs to be better than it was the first month of the season. And last week’s game — with a season-high rushing yards — was the first evidence it is on that path.

“We have a pretty young group,” Turner said, “so as many positives as we can pull on, we try to.”

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