Tim Benz: Recent increase in sacks not just about Steelers offensive line

While the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line has received praise for improved run blocking since Sunday’s win against the Saints, now the pass blocking has come under scrutiny.

For good reason. In both regards.

The Steelers are coming off a game in which they ran the ball for a season-high 217 yards on the ground. It was the first 200-yard rushing game since the Steelers gained 240 yards against the Buffalo Bills in December 2016.

But rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett was also sacked six times. It’s the second week in a row in which the Steelers have allowed six sacks.

Coming out of the preseason and through the first week of the regular season, the offensive line’s pass blocking appeared to be so inept that the rest of the offense may not be able to function because of it. But the group steadily improved so that by mid-October, the O-line seemed to be one of the least discussed problems with the team.

However, twelve total sacks allowed to the defensive units from the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints have pushed the pass blocking back into the spotlight.

“We’re continually sharpening our sword and developing skills relative to our positions at all positions, whether it’s the collective or whether it’s individual people that have things that creep up in their game,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “That’s why we work every day. The skill development component of practice is a significant one.”

However, the inflated sack total may be as much about the ongoing development of Pickett as much as it is a red flag about regression from the offensive line.

“Sometimes, Kenny gets Kenny in trouble,” Tomlin said during his press conference.

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Indeed. On more than a few of those occasions against Philly and New Orleans, Pickett has held onto the ball too long or run into some of those sacks trying to move within — or escape from — the pocket.

“Absolutely, yeah. That’s just time and situation and knowing when to get the ball out,” Pickett said Wednesday when asked if he is at least partially to blame for the increase in sacks. “That goes with just working more with coach [Matt] Canada and knowing his calls.”

As Pickett pointed out, though, part of the reason sacks are on the rise is that the team is making a conscious effort to push the ball down the field more often. A common complaint from Steelers fans this year is that the club hasn’t had enough explosive plays.

At 6.0 yards per pass attempt, the Steelers are tied for last in the NFL. So waiting longer in the pocket may result in more pass pressure.

“We want to take more shots, right? So, I’ve got to hold the ball a little bit longer to let guys get down the field,” Pickett said. “It’s also knowing when to get it out of my hands and get the ball down to the check down or utilize my legs. I feel like I did a good job at times with that and moving the chains and having one explosive (play) that helped us out. So, yeah, it goes hand in hand with everything in the offense.”

To Pickett’s point about running the ball himself, he ran it eight times for 51 yards against the Saints, including a 23-yard jaunt and a touchdown. He also had 37 yards on seven attempts in Philadelphia.

To be fair, only three teams — Dallas (35), New England (32) and Tampa Bay (29) — have more sacks than the Eagles (28). The Saints have 27.

Both Pickett and offensive tackle Dan Moore also said that New Orleans blitzed a little bit more often and did some more creative things in their pass-rush packages than what the Steelers were expecting coming into Sunday’s game.

But regardless of how and why the sacks are occurring, they are still negative plays. And Moore said they need to stop, even if Tomlin is attempting to shift the scrutiny off of his linemen.

“Ultimately, it’s our job to keep him clean,” Moore said Wednesday. “We take pride in that. Regardless of what the coach says, we still take it as a challenge to keep guys off of (Pickett).”

Moore said while the attention may be placed on the coaching, QB and receivers when it comes to stretching the field more often, the guys up front own some of the burden in making that happen, too.

“We talk about it all the time. High risk, high reward. It all comes down to execution,” Moore said.

This week the Steelers get the Bengals. Their pass-pressure percentage of 22.4% is right in the middle of the league, 16th among NFL defenses. But they only have 14 sacks, 30th in the NFL. During the first meeting between the teams in the season opener, Mitch Trubisky was only sacked once, but he was hit four additional times and had to escape pressure on many other occasions as well.

Whatever the Steelers get from Cincinnati this week, they probably can’t count on a second straight 200-yard day on the ground since last week was the first one they had in six years. They’ll need to throw the ball more effectively if they want to stay on the field and keep pace with the Bengals. The Steelers have been held under 200 yards throwing in three of their past four games.

Better blocking, receivers getting open faster and improved execution from the quarterback will all be necessary if the Steelers want to wade into some uncharted waters.

Winning back-to-back games for the first time all year.

Cincinnati Bengals play-by-play voice Dan Hoard joins Tim Benz to talk about the second edition of Steelers vs. Bengals in 2022.