Steelers, Mike Tomlin trying to balance winning with developing young offensive line

His 39-year-old quarterback is absorbing too many hits.

His rookie running back isn’t getting enough yards.

His offensive line isn’t providing enough protection or opening enough holes, a double-edged sword of trouble for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

Coach Mike Tomlin is keenly aware of the problems. Answers are what he is lacking two weeks into the season.

One thing Tomlin isn’t going to do is panic, he said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. And he is not going to make changes to a line that includes two rookies, one second-year player and a second-year starter.

“We just have to keep working,” Tomlin said two days after the Steelers lost their home opener 26-17 to the Las Vegas Raiders to fall to 1-1.

Tomlin will ride the youthful line that counts center Kendrick Green and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. as rookies, left guard Kevin Dotson as a first-year starter and Chuks Okorafor as a second-year right tackle.

Right tackle Zach Banner remains on injured reserve for at least another week, removing one potential replacement from the equation. Veteran pickups Joe Haeg, B.J. Finney and Rashaad Coward will remain in backup roles while Tomlin preaches patience to those disappointed with the Steelers’ stagnant offense.

“Development is that, it’s development,” Tomlin said. “It doesn’t happen in an instant. It doesn’t happen overnight. We’re sensitive to that, but at the same time there is urgency. We have ballgames to win in the midst of this.”

The next one arrives Sunday at Heinz Field in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals, who like every other team in the AFC North sports a 1-1 record.

“We’ll continue to work that balance of doing what we have to do in an effort to pursue victory,” Tomlin said, “while at the same time growing individual and collectively in some areas where we are extremely young or inexperienced from a cohesion standpoint.”

The line as constituted didn’t begin getting reps together until two weeks before the season opener when Moore returned to left tackle — he was getting snaps on the right side in the middle of the preseason — and Okorafor moved to right tackle, the position he manned in 2020.

The lack of cohesion among the front five is evidenced in a running game that ranks last in the NFL in yards and No. 31 in attempts. It also is manifested in Roethlisberger being hit 10 times by the Raiders and sacked four times this season after being taken down just 13 times in 15 games last season.

“He took too many hits,” Tomlin understated.

Najee Harris has rushed for 83 yards on 26 attempts while finding few openings in which to create longer gains. Although he scored his first NFL touchdown on a 25-yard swing pass, Harris gained just 38 yards on 10 carries against the Raiders. He had all of three carries in the second half while the Steelers trailed by nine points on three occasions.

“With each passing quarter, he’s been better,” Tomlin said. “Not that that is unexpected. We spent a lot of time talking about the cohesion and development and comfortability of the blockers, but the same could be said for the runner who has also played eight quarters of NFL football. He was better last week than he was in Week 1 in terms of the things that we value.”

Fullback Derek Watt, who has logged four offensive snaps and none against the Raiders, could be used in a blocking role to help jump-start the running game. For Watt to be on the field, though, a tight end or wide receiver would need to sit.

“Derek is a valued member of our team,” Tomlin said. “He’s a special teams captain. He’s a very credible fullback. Some weeks he is going to be featured, some weeks he is not going to be featured and sometimes it might not have anything to do with his capability.”

The slow start hasn’t been limited to the running game. The Steelers have scored three touchdowns in two games, rank No. 28 in total yards, No. 30 in time of possession, No. 21 in third-down efficiency and are tied for No. 20 in points.

Not quite the start anyone envisioned in Matt Canada’s first year as offensive coordinator. For all of the adjustments the Steelers have made with Canada calling the plays from the press box, Tomlin said the communication between coordinator and quarterback has remained strong.

“Very much so,” Tomlin said. “Communication has been really good. I like the growth and direction of that growth. They’re 1-1 like I’m 1-1. We’re all 1-1.”