Can Steelers weather the storm with injuries to key defensive players?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are suddenly decimated with injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Can their offense do enough to weather the storm? 

The Steelers suffered a big blow to their team on Sunday. After the Raiders bested them on their own turn at Heinz Field, it was discovered that defensive tackle Tyson Alualu suffered a fractured ankle and that he may be done for the 2021 season.

This is a big loss for a Pittsburgh team that is already without Stephon Tuitt to begin the year. Alualu offered excellent depth on the defensive line and Tuitt was on the cusp of becoming one of the best interior defenders in the NFL. Suddenly, what was once the deepest position on the team has turned into a serious issue.

But losing Alualu isn’t the only problem the Steelers currently have. Just before the game against the Raiders, linebacker Devin Bush and cornerback Joe Haden were both surprise inactives with groin injuries. Perhaps most concerning is that T.J. Watt followed suit.

After Watt earned a strip-sack and was part of a defense that allowed just 6 points in the first half while he was in the game, the injury bug struck once again. Watt left the contest early with a groin injury and did not return. He could be seen in street clothes on the sideline as the second half began.

While these groin injuries aren’t season-threatening, they can linger for weeks at a time, and coming back too early could prove to reaggravate the injury. This isn’t something that is going to go away overnight and early reports suggest that Watt, Bush, and Haden could be out 1-3 weeks – depending on how cautious the Steelers choose to be.

Can Steelers weather the storm without top defensive players?

The latest injuries against the Raiders brings the headcount to five defensive starters who could potentially be unavailable in the next few weeks (or beyond): T.J. Watt, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Devin Bush, and Joe Haden.

Though the Steelers still have some quality defenders in Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick still fully healthy, the significance of the injuries they suffered cannot be underplayed, as the defense looked totally different after Watt left the field against the Raiders. Can the offense do enough to make up for a depleted defense?

Over the first two weeks of the 2021 season, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense has been one of the worst in the league. There are many factors that contribute to this.

For starters, the offensive line has been abysmal to begin the year. Those who were questioning if this unit could be worse than the one we saw in 2020 are starting to get their answer. While it’s entirely possible that this young group will show progressive growth throughout the season, they haven’t given us much reason to hope things will get better soon.

In addition, Roethlisberger has not been good to start the year. After passing for just 188 yards and an 83.9 passer rating last week vs the Bills, Ben followed this up by earning just an 87.0 passer rating against the Raiders in Week 2, via ESPN. When throwing beyond 10 yards, he was just 4 of 14 with an interception.

As this young offense (Ben aside) earns more reps, they could start to improve. The Steelers are no strangers to having some rocky starts. However, they will have to be on top of their game to make up for the temporary losses on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe this was the wake-up call Ben and company needed to kickstart the offense.

The Steelers should be getting back most of their defense minus Tyson Alualu in the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh’s offense can weather the storm until then.