Steelers 2020 season review: Quarterbacks
The Pittsburgh Steelers season ended earlier than anyone could have expected and despite an 11-0 start, the team crumbled down the stretch and might have missed out on their last, best chance for a Super Bowl for a long time. Here is our look back at each positional until in our own version of the exit interviews.
First up, we have the quarterbacks.
The 2020 turnaround was supposed to be fueled by the return of Ben Roethlisberger. When Roethlisberger went down early in the 2019 season, most of us wrote off any hope of a trip to the playoffs. But thanks to an inspired effort by the Pittsburgh defense, a hobbled team got to 8-8 and nearly made it in.
For 11 games, it seemed like everything was going according to plan with Roethlisberger back in the fold. However, even during those 11 games, Roethlisberger was tentative. He never admitted it publicly but whether it was injury, confidence, or just wear, he was not throwing the football as he had prior to the injury.
This led to an offense that lost its spark, became predictable and was not helped by terrible offensive game planning. Roethlisberger threw for 3808 yards in 15 games for a modest 253 yards per game. He did throw 33 touchdown passes, which is the second-best number of his career.
In the end, the season did go as went Roethlisberger and now the team and Big Ben need to sort out their future. If Roethlisberger returns in 2021 he could cost the team $41 million against the salary cap and you have to assume he is not going to find a fountain of youth this offseason. Pittsburgh has to start planning for the future and this could mean cutting ties with the Hall of Famer.
Speaking of the future, backup Mason Rudolph only started one game this season but after watching him struggle so much in 2019, he displayed far more confidence and comfort in the offense in 2020. Is he the heir apparent to Big Ben? Personally, I think he did enough to compete in 2021.
List
Top 5 candidates to replace OC Randy Fichtner
