The Steelers' 17-10 loss to the Bills featured the most turnovers by their offense in 2019 with four interceptions by Devlin Hodges and a lost fumble by Diontae Johnson.
But Hodges' interceptions stuck out broadly in the team's narrow loss. Especially when he threw the ball 38 times in a game most expected the Steelers to favor the run in order to control the clock and protect the ball.
The obvious question after the game challenged why Randy Fichtner would have the Steelers run the ball 15 times compared to Hodges' 38 pass attempts with an undrafted rookie making his fourth NFL start.
And even when Hodges threw, did the plays that were called give him a chance to succeed? Or were they too complicated to expect a player of his caliber to succeed?
Let's dive into Fichtner's play calling and where it left the Steelers:
Going into the game, the best plan for the Steelers appeared to be focusing on their run game and punting the ball. But after Jordan Berry punted the ball 22 yards on his first punt and their run game averaged 1.46 yards per carry after James Conner's two longest runs on the night. That forced Fichtner's hand at times to call more pass plays on third downs to convert more difficult situations.
Hodges finished the night with 23 completions on 38 attempts for 202 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. From the passes Hodges threw under ten yards he completed 18 of 25 passes with one touchdown and one interception.
But once he opened up and had to throw the ball deeper down field, he only completed five passes on ten attempts with no touchdowns and three interceptions:
The Bills made a concerted effort to contain the Steelers' underneath passing and running game to force Hodges to succeed with passes deeper down the field and closer to the sideline. This would challenge Hodges to fire tighter passes with more velocity into a secondary with the eight most interceptions in the NFL.
Because the Bills concentrated their coverage to the middle of the field, Fichtner knew he had to employ passing concepts that gave Hodges a chance to succeed on the outside. Watch this third down conversion in the first quarter when Hodges completed an eleven yard pass to Johnson.
Johnson is the second of two out routes available to Hodges. Even with both being open out of their breaks, Hodges hesitates to make the throw before the completion:
Fichtner drew up schemes throughout the night to give Hodges the chance to focus on just a couple reads without extremely complex progressions to digest. Ben Roethlisberger being out for the season ruled out several passing concepts a veteran quarterback could make. But there are simpler concepts Fichtner could reasonably expect Hodges and Mason Rudolph to make.
But the Steelers' protection of Hodges broke down several times in crucial moments to ruin opportunities where Fichtner drew up basic reads for Hodges.
Here's a play I discussed on Monday where Ramon Foster missed his inside block of Tremaine Edmunds, forcing Hodges to bail on the pocket and throw the ball away. Notice Tevin Jones out of the slot run a deep in route that's wide open, but Hodges never gets to see it because of the pressure that never should've reached him:
That became a theme throughout a night where Hodges would be sacked four times. Watch how James Conner bails on the pocket and exposes the inside gap of Matt Feiler that allows Trent Murphy to sack Hodges.
Had the pocket held up, Hodges would've had a chance to pick on Matt Milano who was stuck on an island. Jones ran a crossing pattern with James Washington running a deep in route behind him, forcing Milano to commit to either while both were behind him. It was an ideal call for a third down, but Hodges never got the chance to read because of the blown protection:
That became a theme throughout the night. Watch how Micah Hyde pressures Hodges off the edge with Conner never seeing his rush and blocking nobody. It ruins another opportunity at a deep in route by Washington that was open and could've continued the drive:
But even when the protection did hold up, the Bills directed the majority of their coverage to the middle of the field to force Hodges to the sideline. Watch how that backfires as Hodges figures he can target the right sideline with one defender covering it.
The problem was Tre'Davious White was the man in coverage and Hodges' throw was just inside of Johnson's out route. That much of a mistake was enough for White to capitalize on for the interception:
The Bills' focus for this game was properly focused on taking away the Steelers' run and the underneath options for Hodges to march down the field with safe passes. He was going to have to make quality reads and throws down the field to beat their coverage into their talented secondary.
But Fichtner still gave Hodges chances to focus on two primary reads in difficult situations. On fourth down late in the fourth quarter, Hodges had to pick between a single-high safety's choice and read the progression through two reads. The first read was Washington's deep crossing pattern that challenged the right side of the field.
The second read was Deon Cain's deep post pattern behind Washington's cross. Cain's post pattern would typically be open as Jordan Poyer would focus on Washington's route. But Poyer stuck to Cain's route and left Washington wide open. Hodges never adjusted and Poyer ended with the interception:
Fichtner is calling up enough plays for the offense to succeed. He does have his questionable moments with the use of wildcat, but the majority of his passing concepts and looks he attacks are not too abstract for a rookie quarterback to decipher.
The problems have come from breakdowns in protections at the wrong moments, as well as improper decisions, poor throws, and an inconsistent running game. The reality is that the current offensive personnel does include talent, but it lacks the key aspects to coordinate even a single strength for a play-caller to rely upon.
Unless a surprising factor emerges in the coming weeks, Fichtner is going to have a hard time coordinating this offense to score any points. Expecting him to draw blood from a turnip isn't rational until enough players on his offense demonstrate consistent success in at least some aspects he can find reliable.
MORE CLASSROOM
Dec. 17: Bush settles into NFL role
Dec. 16: Where was the o-line?
Dec. 13: Offense’s fate on the line
Dec. 12: Hilton’s case to stay
