Can Steelers Protect Landry Jones from Chiefs Pass Rush Without Kelvin Beachum?

Changes are afoot on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, both of them injury-related. Landry Jones will now serve as the team's quarterback on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, taking over for an injured Mike Vick, who himself was taking over for an injured Ben Roethlisberger. And the untested Alejandro Villanueva will be Pittsburgh's left tackle going forward after the incumbent starter, Kelvin Beachum, tore his ACL in Week 6.

In Jones' 28 snaps played in relief of Vick against the Arizona Cardinals last week, he looked fully comfortable at the helm of Pittsburgh's offense, if not also fully in control. He completed eight of his 12 pass attempts, for 168 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and no sacks.

It was just about as good as Jones has looked in his Steelers tenure, which dates back to 2013 and has included only preseason appearances. Week 4 marked Jones' first foray onto the Steelers' 46-man game-day roster, last week was his first regular-season action and Sunday will be his first career regular-season NFL start.

Don Wright/Associated Press

But Jones stepping in against a defense unprepared for him is a different animal altogether than what the Chiefs are hoping to have in store for him on Sunday. Add in an inexperienced left tackle to an offensive line still adapting to Cody Wallace as the center in place of Maurkice Pouncey (who underwent a second surgery on his broken ankle this week), and it could be a rough day for Jones in Kansas City.

One of the biggest knocks against Jones in his last three preseasons is how he responds to pressure. Granted, Jones has spent the majority of his time in Pittsburgh working with second- and third-string offensive linemen, but he's also faced second- and third-string defenses.

And yet, he's been sacked 18 times in 428 snaps played. That total includes nine sacks this summer, when he spent more time than ever before with the Steelers first-stringers, thanks to Roethlisberger being held out of most of the team's preseason games and Bruce Gradkowski nursing an injury that eventually led him to the injured reserve list.

With the sack-prone Jones working with a brand new tackle protecting his blind side, things could be tricky on Sunday. Though the Chiefs have totaled only 13 sacks on defense this year, they also have 10 quarterback hits and 90 hurries, pressure that could make life difficult for Jones given his history.

The good news is that Jones has been working with Villanueva for months, so the two know each other's tendencies. And when Villanueva was called upon this summer, playing both left and right tackles, he held his own in pass protection.

In 44 snaps played against Arizona, he ceded just one quarterback hit. This summer, he allowed zero sacks, one hit and three hurries while playing 73.2 percent of the Steelers' preseason offensive snaps. And it had been since 2008 that Villanueva had played offensive tackle; he was a receiver for the Army football team in his final year at West Point. And after three tours of duty in Afghanistan, the Philadelphia Eagles pegged him to play defensive end.

Week	Snaps	Snap%	Sacks	Hits	Hurries
Pre. 1	39	59.1%	0	0	0
Pre. 2	63	78.8%	0	0	2
Pre. 3	51	68.9%	0	1	0
Pre. 4	31	63.3%	0	0	0
Pre. 5	48	100.0%	0	0	1
Reg. 6	44	75.9%	0	1	0

So, it's possible that Jones' blind side will be in good hands with Villanueva. But the Chiefs will be a major test of his pass-protection skills, much as they will be a test of Jones' handling of pressure that is designed especially for him. Last week was a good start for both men, but they will need to keep it up for the Steelers to leave Kansas City with a win.

The Chiefs may have just one win thus far, but a slowed-down Steelers offense can struggle against any opponent, no matter how "easy" it may seem, on paper. After all, with Vick completing only three passes for six yards against the Cardinals, the Steelers were down 10-3 at halftime against the Cardinals. The defense kept the Steelers in the game until Jones came in to replace Vick.

There's nothing a defensive coordinator likes more than planning for a relatively inexperienced quarterback like Jones. Though, as head coach Mike Tomlin pointed out after the Arizona game, Jones has played an exceptionally high number of preseason snaps over the last three summers; that experience can only take him so far when it comes to four full quarters against the top of a defensive depth chart.

It's not an ideal situation for the Steelers to have to turn to their No. 3 quarterback and No. 2 left tackle while the team tries to catch up to the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals (who are on bye this week), let alone head to Kansas City to best the Chiefs. But this is the hand that they have been dealt. 

Jones' history against pressure is shaky, but he did show improvement last week. And Villanueva ended up playing more against Arizona than Jones did and more than held his own. Sunday's test will be a significant one for Pittsburgh's offense, but it should be one it can pass. As far as replacement players go, the Steelers could do far worse than Jones at quarterback and Villanueva at left tackle.