PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 11: Maurkice Pouncey #53 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Maurkice Pouncey was not a fan of Booger McFarland’s analysis of the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers went from nearly unbeatable to potentially losing the No. 2 seed in the AFC, as two straight losses to the Washington Football Team and Buffalo Bills have highlighted their nonexistent running game and over-reliance on an aging Ben Roethlisberger. ESPN’s Booger McFarland pointed the finger at the offensive line during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns thriller, claiming that they were “soft.” Booger messed with the bull, and he got the horns this evening.
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey dismissed McFarland’s analysis as nonsense, pointing the finger back at him for his much-lampooned stint as an analyst in the Monday Night Football booth. He even made reference to the “Boogermobile” that was used during his one ill-fated season with Jason Witten.
Maurkice Pouncey’s unit will be key to the Steelers’ championship hopes
Pouncey’s Steelers may not have surrendered as many sacks or quarterback hits as a team that throws as much likely should give up, but that can be explained by pointing out how most of Pittsburgh’s offense is Big Ben firing off short slant routes one second after he receives the snap.
The Steelers have invested plenty in their backfield over the last few years, but the trio of James Conner, Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland is struggling to do much of anything. Pouncey, an eight-time Pro Bowler who just returned to the lineup after COVID-19 issues, thinks that first-year starter Chukwuma Okorafor and rookie Kevin Dotson have enough talent to solidify that line, although he didn’t use that as his reply to Booger’s criticism.
While the Steelers’ offensive line hasn’t exactly played like that of Jon Kolb and Gerry Mullins, calling them “soft” was apparently over the line, especially for a player like Pouncey who isn’t afraid to tell everyone what he thinks.