There's nothing wrong with the Steelers early in games that getting Ben Roethlisberger warmed up a little more quickly wouldn't solve.
Don't believe that to be the case?
Just ask the quarterback.
"I just need to play better. I’m not converting the throws that I need to," Roethlisberger said after yet another slow start in a 24-19 come-from-behind win last Sunday against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. "I’ll take the blame for that. I need to play better in order for this team to start faster and try to get a lead."
Roethlisberger's numbers bear that out. In the first quarter of games this season, the future Hall of Famer is completing just 58.5 percent of his passes for 322 yards and one touchdown. He's thrown 27 incompletions on 65 pass attempts. His passer rating is a mundane 76.6.
But in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger is completing 80 percent of his passes for 546 yards, with six touchdown passes and just one interception. His passer rating is 121.8.
He's had 14 incompletions on 70 fourth-quarter pass attempts, meaning he's averaged less than two incompletions per game in the fourth quarter, a big reason the Steelers are off to a team-record 8-0 start, with five wins in one-score games.
But the slow starts are a problem, especially in the past two games. The Steelers have been forced to overcome 10-point deficits to rally to beat the Ravens and Cowboys.
It's something the team will try to rectify Sunday, when it returns home for the first time in a month to host the Bengals (2-5-1) at Heinz Field. The problem is that Roethlisberger won't be around to practice during the week. He's on the reserve/COVID-19 list after having close contact with tight end Vance McDonald.
Roethlisberger hasn't tested positive for the virus and the Steelers expect him to be available by Saturday for their walkthrough. He'll attend meetings virtually, but is not permitted to be around the team until Saturday, assuming he continues to test negative.
Rather than coming up with a Cincinnati-specific game plan and script of plays they want to run against the Bengals to start the game, the Steelers might want to do what has worked so well for them in the fourth quarter this season -- particularly in the past two games. That would be a four-receiver, one-tight end package that allows Roethlisberger to spread the defense out and just hit the open man, getting the ball out of his hands quickly.
It would be taking a page out of the book of the Peyton Manning-led Colts and Broncos. Manning often called his own plays later in his career -- with help from the offensive coordinator -- picking his spots on where to attack the defense.
The Steelers have used that package extensively and almost exclusively the past two games in the fourth quarter, with great success. Roethlisberger has completed 21 of 29 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns on three possessions late in the second half.
"Yeah, I think that’s something we can do early in the game and see what they come out in," said wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, one of the key components of the package. "That’s something we can use to our advantage instead of pulling it out in the second half and letting Ben do what Ben does."
The Steelers like the package -- which includes Smith-Schuster on the field with Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Ray-Ray McCloud and tight end Eric Ebron -- because it stretches opposing defenses and limits what they can do to attack the Steelers. It also allows Roethlisberger, a 17-year-veteran, to manipulate those matchups as he sees fit.
"We were just looking at some of their defensive personnel groups, and we found that they didn’t have a lot of defense when we spread them out," Mike Tomlin said of the decision to go to that package against the Cowboys. "It reduced the amount of things that we would have to see, so we were comfortable working in that space."
So, the reason Tomlin is comfortable that Roethlisberger doesn't need physical practice this week to be effective against the Bengals Sunday might be the same reason he can open the game in a spread package.
Roethlisberger hasn't practiced on Wednesdays all season as he returns from missing all of last season with an elbow injury that required surgery.
"This guy has been doing his job for 17 years. He’s got snap experience that he can call upon," Tomlin said Tuesday of Roethlisberger. "We are still going to work extremely hard virtually to prepare. A lot of his work is above the neck, anyway, in terms of preparation. I have very little concern about it, to be quite honest with you."