Just when you think that Ben Roethlisberger might have overcome his issues with playing on the road, he throws more interceptions than touchdowns against the Bills.
In his seven road games this season, Roethlisberger has only had two games which he has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions. Each game in which he has played poorly on the road, similar mistakes have been made. Whether it's placement of the ball or misreading the defense, the mistakes have led the Steelers to a 3-4 record on the road.
Dustin Dopirak covered Roethlisberger's explanation of his three interceptions with his article on Tuesday, so let's get into the film room to look at them and another missed pass.
MISCOMMUNICATION
Roethlisberger didn't have to say much on this one, as it was pretty obvious what happened just from watching it live:
LaDarius Green had an intermediate route that was an option for him to go left or right based on how he read the defense. Green fakes a move to the left in order to go to the right, but while he faked out the defender in space, he also faked out Roethlisberger. Ben throws it to the left, exactly where Green would have been had he stayed with the initial move.
The Steelers employ many of these option routes each week for their top receiving players. Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell have had years of experience with Roethlisberger to develop the chemistry for those moves to be successful. Green has barely had a few games with Roethlisberger, so mistakes like these will happen.
The next interception Roethlisberger would throw was a little different:
You can see how the above play went all wrong. The Steelers were only going to use two receivers on a play action pass, but Cobi Hamilton got knocked down at the line of scrimmage and Brown had to wrestle his way out of being held by Stephon Gilmore down the field.
The move Brown put on Gilmore to get free worked, but it was off by just a few yards of what the designed comeback pattern was for the play, and Roethlisberger's throw was not adjusted to Brown's positioning as a result of the move. Roethlisberger also looked like he was surprised to not see another option coming over the middle with Hamilton being knocked down at the start of the play.
MISREADS
Roethlisberger often gets himself caught up on the same mistakes when it comes to reading defenses. Opponents often show one coverage scheme only to bait Roethlisberger into poor decisions:
Here you can see the Bills' defense in a cover-3 defense, which makes Roethlisberger think that a seam route from Brown would be enough to get him a jump ball in single coverage. That doesn't happen here as Gilmore is drawn to Brown, making it a difficult play to be made here. Roethlisberger looks like he recognizes it too late, and his floated pass is almost intercepted.
On a second-down situation, it might have been more prudent to try the out route to Eli Rogers toward the left side of the field or dump it down to Jesse James on the delayed release. Either option would have been better than giving the Bills an opportunity for a fourth interception.
The play below was a moment when Roethlisberger shouldn't have gone to James:
While this was a good play by the Bills' defense, it's also a rushed mistake from Roethlisberger. James pulls off his release well, and Roethlisberger sees him open, but the weak inside linebacker plays the only route over the middle and makes an interception that kept the Bills alive.
A higher pass to James might make this a touchdown, but there's also the one-on-one opportunity for Brown toward the bottom of your screen that Roethlisberger never even acknowledges. Brown's corner route was open, but Roethlisberger's initial read prevents him from even seeing it.
While the chemistry between Green and Roethlisberger needs time to grow, but a consistency in the passing game overall is needed, as well. The Steelers have been able to work their way to an 8-5 record and being able to determine their own destiny in their last three games.
If Roethlisberger can develop a consistent rhythm in the passing game again, it would join a strong and developing ground attack to make the great offense that has been expected all season, as well as the unexpected rise of a defense that ranks in the top ten of the NFL.
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