Roethlisberger is releasing the ball quickly. That presents a challenge for the Bears' pass rushers
LAKE FOREST - It's not rocket science. Throw the ball quickly, and the chances of a sack decrease dramatically.
That's what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done with 39-year-old quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. As he has aged, Roethlisberger has become less mobile in the pocket. So what the Steelers have done is focus the offense around releasing the ball sooner.
When NFL Next Gen Stats first started tracking advanced metrics in 2016, Roethlisberger ranked middle-of-the-pack among NFL quarterbacks in its "time to throw" metric. In 2021, no quarterback is releasing the ball quicker than Roethlisberger (2.37 seconds, on average).
"The science of it is you don't get to him and that's why Ben is not getting sacked much right now," Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. "Right? That's just (it), there's a certain time it takes."
Roethlisberger has been sacked 14 times in seven games, which is tied for 18th most in the NFL. More telling, he has been pressured on only 20% of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Reference's advanced stats. That ranks fourth-best among NFL offenses.
The speed at which Roethlisberger is throwing the ball will make it awfully hard on the Bears' pass rushers Monday night in Pittsburgh. Whether outside linebacker Khalil Mack plays or not, the Bears are going to have a tough time reaching the quarterback.
"So the challenge is, we've got to get creative in how we try to attack them, when we try to attack them, and we've got to get tight on coverage," Desai said.
Mack missed last week's game against San Francisco due to a foot injury. If he sits out again Monday, the burden is going to fall to outside linebacker Robert Quinn.
"You just have to bank on the DBs locking their man up," Quinn said. "We say if we do get five good rushes, we have to take advantage of those and make sure we show our DBs some love for giving us some time to get back there."
That's easier said than done with talented receivers like Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. Not surprisingly, given how quickly he's releasing the ball, Roethlisberger ranks near the bottom of the league in average intended air yards. He is consistently throwing the ball short to his playmakers and letting them work.
The Bears have had a tough time rushing the passer in their past two games. In contests against Tampa Bay and San Francisco, the defense has one quarterback hit and no sacks. The Bears were without Quinn against Tampa and without Mack last week.
If the Bears are without Mack again, it will be that much more important for Desai to scheme up creative ways to free up his pass rushers. The Bears have been the best pass rushing team in the NFL when Quinn and Mack are both healthy, but the results have fallen off when one of them is out.
"You've just got to do a little bit more, strain a little bit harder," Quinn said of playing without Mack last week. "And if you realize they're not going to allow you to have a great day easily, again, that's why I said someone else is going to have to step up. ... We all get paid. We all make plays. So everyone has to step up eventually."
Like Desai said, the burden is on the coverage in the secondary as much as it is on the pass rushers. Tight coverage from the snap will dictate if guys like Quinn have time to reach the quarterback.