Improved Vegas front up next for Steelers' inexperienced offensive line taken on the South Side (Steelers)

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Ben Roethlisberger lines up behind his young, inexperienced offensive line against the Bills last Sunday.

When you gain 54 yards while getting shut out in an entire half of football, there's usually not a lot to like about your offensive performance.

But Mike Tomlin knew his young offense might have some struggles in last week's 23-16 come-from-behind win over the Bills in Buffalo.

In fact, even though he didn't openly talk about them, not wanting to set his team up with an excuse for failure, after the fact, Tomlin acknowledged the slow start was somewhat to be expected against an experienced Bills defense.

"As I said after the game, we weren't interested in style points," Tomlin said. "We knew it would be tough sledding for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, the Buffalo Bills are a quality outfit. They've got quality players. They're well-coached. They've got continuity. ... We knew that would be challenging. We also knew the environment itself, playing in front of a packed stadium would create some challenges. Lastly, we knew we had a lot of new pieces, new to us, and in some instances, new to the National Football League. We played four players on offense that were in their first regular season action.

"We were able to settle down and make some plays and make enough plays to get a victory."

Two of those players seeing their first NFL playing time were on the offensive line, a line that also included veteran guard Trai Turner making his first start with the Steelers. But the line also included rookies Dan Moore at left tackle and Kendrick Green at center.

Left guard Kevin Dotson and right tackle Chuks Okorafor had 23 combined starts under their belt coming into the game, while the Steelers also had rookie starters at running back in Najee Harris and tight end in Pat Freiermuth.

There were bound to be some hiccups.

“I loved the spirit in which they worked,” said Tomlin “I loved the demeanor of their work, I loved the physicality of their work. The quality of our work has to get better. We have to develop skills relative to their position. We have to develop individual and collective know-how and cohesion. But the will, the intangible things required to progress, I saw. That was encouraging.”

The offense came together in the second half of that win over the Bills, scoring 16 points on four consecutive possessions, but there's still work to be done. That will start this week against the Raiders at Heinz Field.

Las Vegas has a largely revamped defense that gave Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fits in their 33-27 overtime win over Baltimore Monday night.

The Raiders sacked Jackson three times and forced him to fumble three times, recovering two, including one in overtime that set up Las Vegas' game-winning score.

They also hit Jackson seven times on his 33 drop backs, though his escapability also allowed him to run 12 times for 86 yards.

Ben Roethlisberger is not nearly as mobile -- few quarterbacks are -- so the Raiders will know where he's going to be at in the pocket.

The Steelers did, however, roll Roethlisberger out or move the pocket a little at times in the win over the Bills. Roethlisberger also got the ball out of his hands quickly -- much as he did last season. His 2.3 seconds to pass was the fastest of any quarterback in Week 1 according to NextGen Stats.

That was a far cry different from the 3.03 seconds Jackson held the ball on average before throwing against the Raiders Monday night, the second-longest per pass attempt in the league in Week 1.

And while defensive end Maxx Crosby was a thorn in the side of the Ravens all night, recording two sacks and five quarterback hits while mostly working against former Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva -- who was moved to right tackle by the Ravens after signing with them this year -- Carl Nassib had Las Vegas' quickest sack. Nassib got to Jackson in 3.5 seconds to record his only sack in the game.

Tomlin worked closely in Tampa Bay with Las Vegas defensive line coach Rod Marinelli when both were on the staff there, going as far as to call him his "football father." He later followed Marinelli to Minnesota as his defensive coordinator before taking the head coaching job with the Steelers.

"I was not surprised at all to see Crosby and Nassib and Yannick (Ngakoue) and others, (Jonathan) Hankins, be the catalyst for splash (plays) for them," Tomlin said. "That could probably be described for every defensive line Rod has coached for the last 25 years in the NFL. I know I benefitted from it when I was a secondary coach when we worked together in Tampa. Those sacks, those game-changing plays, there's nothing mystical about it."

Roethlisberger was sacked just twice by the Bills, but he was pressured nine times and knocked down two others by the Bills.

And the Steelers ran for just 75 yards on 21 attempts, with Harris gaining 45 yards on 16 carries -- though 37 of that came in the second half on nine attempts as the line found some footing.

That growth has to continue, and it must be accelerated as the Steelers move forward.

"We have a lot to work on," Tomlin admitted. "We have a lot of details to improve. We need to continue to gain experience and cohesion, individually and collectively."

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