Ben Roethlisberger Praises Wide Receivers’ Patience, Maturity

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense didn’t have a gaudy performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. Buffalo held Pittsburgh to 252 yards of total offense. Even so, Pittsburgh did just enough to leave Orchard Park 1-0.

The Steelers future Hall of Fame quarterback completed a pass to eight different receivers. As they get ready for Week 2, Roethlisberger has high praise for his playmakers.

“My point of praise is the maturation,” Roethlisberger said. “I think each guy did something a little extra special that game.”

Roethlisberger continued to speak on each of the team’s top four receivers, and what set each of them apart in their Week 1 win.

”Juju [Smith-Schuster] is JuJu,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s tough, he’s reliable, and he’s dependable. He lowers his head and gets you that first down and shows his physicality.”

Diontae Johnson led the Steelers with five catches against Buffalo, including the Steelers’ loan offensive touchdown.

”I thought Diontae started out the game really well,” Roethlisberger said. “He banged his knee up pretty bad, and I don’t know if the old Diontae would have come back to keep making plays for us. I think that showed a lot of growth.”

Roethlisberger also showed praise to James Washington for coming in and contributing immediately after Johnson left the game. He followed that up by saying that the Steelers preach to Chase Claypool to use his size to his advantage and to be dominant downfield.

How The Offense Will Look vs. Las Vegas

The Steelers have one of the best receiving corps in the NFL. While Week 1 tested the offense in several ways, Week 2 could be the offense’s coming out party.

The Raiders gave up multiple big plays to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Of those plays was a long pass to Sammy Watkins after he got behind the secondary. Jackson also had a red zone touchdown pass to Hollywood Brown after extending the play.

Plus, the Raiders are without their starting nose tackle Gerald McCoy. As a result, Vegas’ interior pressure won’t be as strong. This opens up the entire offense for the Steelers. If the run game is effective against the Raiders weakened front seven, the passing game will compliment it as Vegas looks for answers.

With time to throw, Roethlisberger will keep giving all of his young receivers touches in their home opener as they look to improve to 2-0.