Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Sends Direct Message To Offensive Starter: "Still Has Gotta Get Better"

The Pittsburgh Steelers came away with a big Week 4 win against the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland. Heading into the Week 5 bye with a record of 3-1 instead of 2-2 is a massive advantage for a team that is seeing the rest of the AFC North collapse from within. There is no doubting the fact that the offense had its best running performance of the young season overseas, but it will look to continue to build off of that moving forward. Asking a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to win contests with his arm each week is not a recipe for success.

It was certainly concerning early on when Rodgers was sacked seven different times in the first two weeks of the season. The team couldn't rely on the running game either at that time, because through Weeks 1 and 2, only had 125 yards gained on the ground. The offense began to click a little bit more consistently as September went on, but eyes will remain on a questionable offensive line.

One of the most important individuals on the Steelers' offense as a whole is third-year lineman Broderick Jones. The former first-round pick has finally gotten a chance to play on the left side full-time, protecting the blindside of Rodgers. He has had an inconsistent start to his 2025 campaign, and some are noticing that he still showed major flaws in Week 4.

Ben Roethlisberger knows a little bit about playing behind both good and bad offensive lines. The retired quarterback has been critical of the big man in Jones throughout the year, and continued his skepticism on a recent episode of his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. He acknowledged the line is improving, but Jones still has some significant work to do.

"Well, I think the line played better [against the Vikings]," Roethlisberger said. "There's still — 77, he still has gotta get better."

The Steelers traded up in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Jones, and while he was known at the time to be a raw prospect, the organization is now in the position where it may not even pick up his fifth-year option for 2027. The 2025 season is a huge one for the offensive lineman because he may be looking at being an NFL journeyman swing tackle if he doesn't perform at a high level consistently.

It's fair to note that Jones has gotten a little bit better since a Week 1 disaster in which he was charged with allowing three total sacks. Fans in the Steel City were already in panic mode and worrying that a change may have had to be made much sooner than anticipated. It was not a good start for him, as he was once expected to be the team's franchise left tackle for a decade.

The Steelers' chances of making a run in the AFC truly do revolve around Rodgers' ability to stay healthy. If Jones continues to struggle in pass protection and the rushing attack can't string together several good games in a row, a change may be needed. Time will tell, but Roethlisberger hit the nail on the head; Jones still has some work to do.

Steelers Can Be A Very Dangerous Offense With Stout Offensive Line

Rodgers is a smart enough quarterback to have his way with defenses that are at a disadvantage. If the running game can pick it up and opposing defenses have to respect it, Pittsburgh's signal-caller will be able to dominate whoever is on the other side of the ball. The offensive line as a whole needs to continue to get better, but Jones is at the top of the list.

Do you think that the Steelers are happy with Jones after the win over the Vikings? Let us know in the comments below!

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