Flavell's Five Thoughts: Steelers Problems Are More Than the O-Line

It all starts on the offensive line, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have more than one problem.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' ugly 24-10 loss to Cincinnati marks their first time losing back-to-back games at Heinz Field since 2003.

Looking back to their road win in Week 1 against the Bills, that win looks more impressive by the day. Their home losses have pushed them to 1-2 on the season. While it isn't quite time to push the panic button, things are getting a bit tenser in Pittsburgh.

There is a lot to unpack. Let us get to it, shall we?

The Offensive Line Continues to Disappoint

The issues on offense continue to stem from the offensive line. The running backs have no lanes to run towards and the quarterback isn't getting a ton of time to make decisions when he drops back to pass.

The Bills and Raiders had top-of-the-line pass rushes, so there was room to believe they were just badly outmatched. The Bengals don't really possess that kind of pass rush, and yet they got home four times on Ben Roethlisberger Sunday afternoon. Najee Harris added a measly 40 yards in 14 carries, with half of those yards coming on a 20-yard run.

And even better yet? Every time Roethlisberger gets hit in the backfield, the offensive line makes no attempt to help their fallen franchise quarterback. If you're going to be responsible for him getting drilled, the least you could do is go help him up.

If they don't get their stuff together, the offense as a whole is going to continue to be anemic, and the Steelers are headed for their first losing season of the Mike Tomlin era.

Harris Proved He Was Worth the First Round Pick

Harris is not getting rushing lanes opened up for him at all. However, he still scampered for a nice 20-yard run this afternoon.

With Diontae Johnson out and JuJu Smith-Schuster going down mid-game, the Steelers needed all hands on deck in the passing game. That resulted in Harris catching 14 passes on 19 targets for 104 yards. For a running back, that is impressive.

The Steelers also want to make sure that they use Harris effectively after spending a first-round draft choice on him. To substitute his lack of rushing opportunities, the Steelers used short screens and in-routes to keep Harris involved in the game plan. He did have a few easy drops in the passing game but was by far the Steelers' best and most involved player on offense.

I like the idea of using him in any way they can, but the screen passes continuing to add up is getting hard to watch.

Claypool Stepped Up, Ebron Did Not

Last week, I talked about the need for guys to step up in the absence of Diontae Johnson. Harris clearly picked up a lot of slack today but Claypool was noticeably better than he's been in recent weeks.

He is the one I had been primarily worried about. He'd been mostly a vertical threat and nothing more to this point and his maturity as an overall receiver seemingly hadn't been all that complete. As the de facto number one for most of the game, Claypool was tasked with running more routes than his typical go routes, and he stepped up.

Claypool caught nine passes for 96 yards and made some nice catches for the Steelers. He didn't break off any of the long ball plays but instead played a more complete receiver Sunday.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Eric Ebron looked like a guy that doesn't need to see the field anytime soon.

The Steelers drafted Pat Friermuth in the second round this offseason and plan on making him their feature-tight end of the future. Instead of using that as fuel, Ebron has been a total disappointment. He dropped a wide open pass across the middle and then dropped a touchdown that hit his hands.

He absolutely needs to step up or else his roster spot may soon be in jeopardy.

Lack of Pass Rush Hurt Steelers Defense

T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith both missed this game with groin injuries. The Steelers' outside pass rush was non-existent without them Sunday. Melvin Ingram and Jamir Jones were responsible for getting to the quarterback today and didn't quite have the same success rate the normal duo does.

In fact, the Steelers' NFL-record 75-game sack streak came to an end.

Without a true pass rush, Joe Burrow had all the time in the world to pass, most notably on the nine-yard touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase. Burrow was in the pocket for a solid eight seconds before Chase finally got enough separation for the touchdown pass.

Hopefully, they both return next week for a depleted defense as the Steelers visit Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers.

Steelers Have the Fourth-Best QB in the AFC North

With all due respect to Ben Roethlisberger and everything he has done for Pittsburgh, he is now clearly the fourth-best quarterback in the division. While I believe Roethlisberger would be a bit better with extra time in the pocket, the other three quarterbacks in the division are just younger and more talented at this point.

Lamar Jackson is an elite runner and an improving passer. Joe Burrow showed Steelers fans Sunday why he won't be allowing the Steelers to bully the Bengals anymore. Baker Mayfield is a solid game manager that thrives best with a run game. I think most people would agree they'd likely rather have Mayfield than Roethlisberger.

Eventually, the Steelers will have to replace Roethlisberger and they'll go younger. As of right now, Roethlisberger is the one guy in the division that isn't quite as up to par with the new crop of NFL quarterbacks these days. The awful offensive line in front of him isn't doing him many favors.

Cody Flavell is a Contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Cody on Twitter @LetsTalkPIT, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.

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