The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the Week 2 game against the Denver Broncos with the intention of having a rotation at right tackle, but it wasn't long before that was over, as Broderick Jones got himself benched in the second quarter.
The benching came after Jones committed two offensive holding and one false start penalty in the span of six plays, and one of those holding flags wiped out a long completion from quarterback Justin Fields to wide receiver George Pickens.
On Thursday, Jones took ownership of his dreadful performance and didn't mince words about it.
"S---, I played bad," Jones said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com. "That's all it is at the end of the day. You f--- up, you get pulled. That’s all it is. I’ve just got to be better. Continue to grow as a player and as a man, and take the good with the bad."
Despite the disappointing showing, head coach Mike Tomlin made it clear the Steelers are not giving up on their 2023 first-round pick.
“I’m going to give Broderick an opportunity to rebound,” Tomlin said, per Dale Lolley of Steelers.com. “He’s a talented young player. I am sure he suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy starting. It’s a natural thing. But he has to move past it and I have to give him an opportunity to move past it as a leader. We’ll get into this week. We’ll let participation be our guide and the quality of participation for both guys be our guide in terms of how we divvy up this week. It’s a new week.”
When and how that opportunity comes remains to be seen, though, as Pittsburgh is almost certainly going to stick with Troy Fautanu at right tackle and Dan Moore at left tackle. Fautanu was solid in his debut last week and Moore has been far better than expected to start the season.
