Steelers' Broderick Jones At A Clear Disadvantage Against The Chiefs To Officiating Crew

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to get back into the win-column on Christmas Day as they be will hosting the Kansas City Chiefs. This certainly won't be an easy game as Pittsburgh will look to be just the second team during the 2024 season to take down the back-to-back Super Bowl champions. The Steelers desperately need a win after losing two games in a row, and if the organization still has hopes for winning the AFC North, the Steelers will need to find a way to win their final two games of the regular season, and that starts with Kansas City.

The Chiefs are clearly one of the best teams in the NFL, although they haven't been dominating teams in 2024. Most of the Chiefs' wins have come in tight, one-score games that are usually decided near the end of the contest. Many NFL fans have accused the NFL of helping the Chiefs win some of these close games. The team has certainly gotten some favorable calls from the officials throughout the year. The person that will be in charge of the officiating at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday is Craig Wrolstad, and his crew has shown some trends in how they call games.

Wrolstad and his crew have not officiated a game involving either the Chiefs or the Steelers during the 2024 season, but the crew still has some tendencies. Aside from pre-snap penalties, the crew is a bit trigger-happy when it comes to throwing the flag for offensive holding. They have thrown the flag for offensive holding 35 times during the 2024 season. For context, their next closest penalty type has only been called on 19 occasions. 

This is obviously bad news for second-year tackle Broderick Jones, who has had his fair share of issues with being penalized during the 2024 season. Jones is the second-most penalized player on the Steelers, and he is by far the most penalized offensive lineman. He has been called for holding five times, while no other offensive lineman on the Steelers has more than four penalties total.

There was a time when it looked like Jones' future in Pittsburgh may have been a little rocky. Rookie tackle Troy Fautanu took Jones' starting job in Week 2 and played well. Fautanu went down with a knee injury during practice the following week, and Jones has been back as the starter ever since. During that Week 2 game started by Fautanu, Jones took his place for one possession and single-handedly killed all of Pittsburgh's momentum. 

Jones had three penalties on one possession, two holding calls and one false start, and these penalties killed what should have been a scoring drive. He was also called twice for holding later in the year against the Baltimore Ravens. For the most part, Jones has been solid at right tackle as of late, and hopefully that continues on Wednesday. Pittsburgh won't be able to afford to lose much yardage due to penalties.

Steelers Should Benefit From Officiating Tendencies On The Other Side Of The Ball

While this officiating crew having an affinity for holding calls may hurt the Steelers' offense, it should help the Pittsburgh defense. Pittsburgh's edge-rushing group is arguably the best in the league, and TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Preston Smith will all have the ability to draw some penalties. 

In addition to the edge rushers for the Steelers being elite, the Chiefs have some issues at both tackle spots. Starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor is questionable to play, and starting left tackle DJ Humphries has already been ruled out of the game. Pittsburgh will likely be squaring off against a backup right tackle and Joe Thuney, a natural guard, at left tackle.