Every 2017 NFL Playoff Team's Biggest Weakness
Pittsburgh Steelers: Offense on the Road
This isn't a shock. It's pretty well known by now that Ben Roethlisberger struggles on the road, and this year wasn't any different.
What's craziest about this for Roethlisberger is that one of their home games was against the Jaguars' suffocating pass defense, a game in which Roethlisberger threw five interceptions. Even when you include that game, though, there's a pretty clear split based on where the games have been played.
| Roethlisberger in 2017 | TDs | INTs | Passing NEP per Drop Back | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home | 16 | 8 | 0.21 | 51.12% |
| On Road | 12 | 6 | 0.23 | 47.96% |
The one slight positive there is that Roethlisberger's Passing NEP per drop back was higher on the road, but his Success Rate swung the opposite direction. This seems to illustrate that the Jacksonville game -- in which Roethlisberger had -14.80 Passing NEP -- is having a grotesque impact on his overall per-drop back numbers. This would seem to validate the thought that he was once again better at home.
The team finished the year averaging 22.5 points per game outside of Heinz Field compared to 28.3 in it, and they scored more than 23 points just twice on the road. With a potential matchup in Foxboro in the AFC Championship, that's an issue.
There are other things ailing the Steelers now, especially with Antonio Brown's availability up in the air. But even when Brown was healthy this year, the team's offensive output went down on the road, and they'll need all they can muster if they do, indeed, get a rematch with the New England Patriots.
