Before this season began, there was a lot of talk about what new quarterbacks coach Matt Canada would bring to the Steelers' offense with pre-snap motion and jet sweeps that he used successfully in college.
As it turns out, the real discussion should have been how long would it take Ben Roethlisberger to get comfortable with his receivers. Prior to this season, Roethlisberger had really only spent a lot of time playing with JuJu Smith-Schuster. And coming off an elbow surgery that cost him most of 2019 and with offseason contact limited and no preseason because of the pandemic, finding that comfort zone between quarterback and receivers was seen as something that would be a work in progress.
But with the Steelers now 9-0 heading into their game Sunday against the Jaguars (1-8) at TIAA Bank Stadium it certainly looks like Roethlisberger and his receivers are on the same page.
Coming off a week in which he won AFC Offensive Player of the week honors after throwing for 333 yards and four touchdown passes in a 36-10 win over the Bengals despite not practicing at all last week, the 38-year-old Roethlisberger looks like he's been drinking from the fountain of youth.
Maybe that's because he's more than a decade older than every one of the team's wide receivers and top tight end Eric Ebron.
That age difference hasn't mattered, as Roethlisberger has spread the ball around well, keeping everyone involved and happy with their role in the offense. All of the Steelers receivers seem to have formed a bond with the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
He went hunting with James Washington in the offseason. He had Ebron stay at his home when he first came to Pittsburgh so they could work out together. He's serving as a mentor and big brother, both on and off the field.
"Chemistry is built over time," said Smith-Schuster, who in his fourth season has been with Roethlisberger the longest of this group. "Ben has been here for a long period of time. I asked him if he had a top-10 receivers that he liked to go to, he said, 'You might be on the fine line of making the top 10.'
"I have so much stuff he helps me with off the field and dealing with stuff in my personal life that he’s been through. On the field, football is football. We’ve been playing since we were kids. Having that connection, that chemistry, goes a long way."
It has thus far with the Steelers unbeaten and averaging 30.1 points per game, which would be the most in team history.
And in recent weeks, it's been Roethlisberger and an up-tempo muddle-huddle package with four receivers and a running back or tight end on the field that's made things happen.
The Steelers unveiled it with great success three weeks ago in a comeback win against the Ravens. They used it again with great success to help them come back against the Cowboys. Last week against the Bengals, they used it at various points in the game, putting Smith-Schuster on the field with a combination of receivers Diontae Johnson, Washington, rookie Chase Claypool and Ray-Ray McCloud along with Ebron and running back James Conner, depending on the look they wanted.
The Steelers' feeling in that package is that the five skill position players they put on the field, regardless of who it is, will be too much for a defense to account for. So far, they've been right.
It worked to their advantage in the comeback wins over the Ravens and Cowboys and in the blowout win over the Bengals last week.
But to make that package work, there is a special skillset involved, with Roethlisberger calling the plays at the line of scrimmage and having receivers line up at any spot on the field to best take advantage of matchups.
"It’s a special group. I think it’s complete in a sense that everyone is contributing, and everybody is getting moved around. If you look at an offense, you have your traditional X and your traditional Z and F," Roethlisberger said. "A lot of times those guys stay in that spot. What we’ve done this year is kind of throw the letter out the window and just say you’re going to go to this spot, you’re going to go to this spot. That’s a credit to those guys that they don’t need to be in their memorized spot. They’re able to learn the whole package and understand when things are changed what they’re supposed to do.
"In terms of just moving guys around and them understanding, I think it’s pretty cool."
Pretty good, too.
After a bit of a lull in the first month of the season, Smith-Schuster has come on of late. He's tied for the NFL lead with 22 catches on third down and has 54 receptions for 514 yards and five touchdowns. Smith-Schuster is often where Roethlisberger looks when he needs a third-down conversion.
"Trust, right? There’s a lot of trust there. JuJu’s a guy, obviously, that has been in this system for a while now. He’s a guy that I can line up anywhere, and he knows what to do," Roethlisberger said. "What you see from him in terms of his demeanor, his attitude when the ball is in his hand is determination. It’s unbelievable. There have been times in the last couple games where I have gotten the ball to him on 3rd - and-whatever, and he has caught it a little bit short of the first down. I have 100 percent confidence that he’s going to find a way to get the first down."
But unlike previous seasons, when Antonio Brown would dominate the targets, Roethlisberger doesn't force feed Smith-Schuster the ball. Smith-Schuster has been targeted 70 times on passes, while Johnson has been targeted 65 times, despite missing a full game and parts of two others. And Claypool (57), Ebron (49) and Washington (32) all have gotten their looks, as well.
It's led to a balanced attack. While Smith-Schuster leads in receptions and yards, Claypool isn't far behind with 500 yards on 34 receptions to go along with a team-high seven touchdown catches. And Johnson has 37 receptions for 426 yards and four scores, while Ebron (31-323-3) and Washington (20-232-3) all have been major factors, as well.
Together, they form a package that is leads the NFL in yards gained after the catch with 882.
"I'm just the facilitator," Roethlisberger said when asked about his offensive player of the week honor.
He's facilitating pretty well. But the skillsets each of his receivers have sure does help. This group is built like a basketball starting five, with Ebron as the center, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Claypool as the power forward, Smith-Schuster as the small forward and Johnson, Washington and McCloud as the guards.
They offer something in all situations.
"They have a nice mixture of guys, size and speed, size and route running ability, flat speed, matchup problem at tight end," said Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone. "That's why they're one of the top offenses."
And a big headache when it comes to matching up to those guys with Roethlisberger calling the shots.
That's why the muddle-huddle package works so well. Roethlisberger can pick what matchup he wants to see. And if one doesn't work, he can find one that does. It's led to different receivers having big days nearly every week.
"Really, it’s how it manifests itself," Roethlisberger said. "You kind of know JuJu is going to be there when you need him on third just because of the comfort level that we have with each other. Truly, it’s going into the game, you never really know who it’s going to be. We don’t predetermine."
And that makes this team very difficult to defend, even when the running game isn't working. The Steelers have won their past three despite failing to top 48 rushing yards in any of those games, the first time a team has done that since 1940.
The rest of the league is 3-14-1 when it rushes for less than 50 yards.
But the Steelers can make it work because of the diversity of their receiver package that looks difficult to stop.
"I don’t know, that’s tough," said Smith-Schuster when I asked him how he would try to defend this group of receivers. "We haven’t been stopped yet. You can play man-to-man across the board, but Ben’s going to put us in the best situation to get the ball. You can play zone, and we’ll get to the spot for spot balls. I don’t know. No one has stopped us yet. It’s our bread and butter. We’re just going to keep doing it."