For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting offense accomplished very little in the preseason. Unfortunately, the play of the offensive line, and right tackle in particular, was the main culprit. Last week, the issues of rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu were at the forefront, and this week it was 2023 first-round pick OT Broderick Jones.

He’s done some good things in the run game, but today we’re focusing on pass protection. Like in the famous children’s book, Broderick Jones had a terrible, terrible, terrible day.

Jones played 30 snaps, 20 of which were passing plays. In those 20 snaps, Jones allowed a total of three pressure situations with two sacks and a quarterback hit, according to Pro Football Focus.

Jones had ups and downs in pass defense during his rookie season, but never this bad. So what went wrong?

The first sack he allowed sums up many of the issues that cropped up throughout the game. OL coach Pat Meyer preaches independent hand use and first significant contact. Jones struggled with both concepts all night.

The goal on first significant contact is to get the edge rusher to play on your terms. Whether that means getting him off balance or off his ideal path, it allows for a larger margin for error to realign the hands when necessary. I’ve included both angles in this first clip. Jones didn’t make first significant contact and tried to catch Greg Rousseau. His inside arm ended up wrapped around Rousseau’s back, which didn’t do Jones much good.

Since Rousseau set the terms, he caught Jones’ late punch, which took virtually all of his power. From then on, it was easy to use his long arm to shake off the block and make the sack.

Jones had some good reps in pass protection. The clip below shows two of those plays. You can see Jones make his first significant contact with independent hands on the first play and land a nice two-handed shot on the second play. In both cases, he forces the edge rusher to play on his terms instead of the other way around.

In general, Jones played a little too loose with his elbows. He should ideally keep them inside and tight. This helps generate power and makes it harder for the defender to get to his chest. On the second sack, Jones’ punch timing is off. He never really manages to get a punch. Sometimes it’s OK to catch the defender, but only if the elbows are tight inside. The clip below shows Jones with his arms extended wide. He gave up his chest and was clubbed by Rousseau for another sack.

Here’s another quick example of his arms being spread too wide and him exposing his chest. He’s pushed almost directly into Wilson.

Too often, Jones’ shot placement with his inside arm was off. On the following play, Jones landed his shot with his outside arm in a perfect position, but instead of keeping his inside arm free to reset and thwart the inside counter, his arm ended up wrapped around the defender’s back. This left his inside shoulder very soft for the defender, who was able to swing long-arm inside and hit Justin Fields with a quarterback hit.

Those last two plays in the clip below were inconsequential, but they’re still mind-boggling. He had a tight end on both occasions who was making a pass to his opponent. On the first play in particular, Darnell Washington completely unbalances the edge rusher. It was handed to Jones on a silver platter. Ideally, he would just bury the defender in these situations while he’s off balance. Instead, he plays passively and lets them get back in the game.

Is this performance concerning? Yes, I am at least a little concerned. Jones is wearing that elbow brace on his right arm, so the injury may be worse than reported. Jones reportedly declined interviews yesterday because he had to meet with the team doctor.

Or can you blame it on Broderick Jones being in limbo on both the right and left sides? Left tackle is his natural position, so maybe he’s like Dan Moore Jr. and just doesn’t feel comfortable on the right side. Everything is flipped, so you punch with the other arm and kick first with the other leg.

It’s probably a combination of all of the above factors, but whatever it is, the Steelers need to figure it out fast.