The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a devastating 31-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, with their defense once again looking like a disaster. They allowed almost 400 yards of offense to a team that scored just 13 points the week prior, and they only kept them to 31 thanks to some timely turnovers.
While the defense was an eye sore, there is too much talent (even with some new injuries) for me to believe they won't eventually figure things out on that side of the ball. Where the Steelers are starting to worry fans is the offensive line, in particular, the pass protection.
This group is largely young players with theoretical upside, but players like Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu need to turn that potential into on-field results in a hurry. If they can't buy Aaron Rodgers more time to find his receivers down the field, this offense will stay stuck in neutral for the rest of the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line is quickly turning into their Achilles heel
It feels like bullying at this point, but the concerns surrounding the Steelers' offensive line are once again headlined by Jones. His failure to improve after finally being moved to his natural position isn't all his fault, but it's killing any chance of the offense being able to push the ball down the field.
His right side counterpart, Fautanu, isn't standing out positively either, but he has been great in comparison. These two playing much better is the key to being more explosive as an offense, but that seems less and less likely the more we see of them.
The interior is not without blame, as the running game has failed to show any real signs of life through two contests. Their longest run on the season is just 13 yards from Kenneth Gainwell, and rookie Kaleb Johnson has yet to get a real opportunity to help bolster the run game.
If things don't improve quickly, the offseason of wild moves could end up being for nothing. Rodgers might not even make it through the season at this rate, and DK Metcalf and Jonnu Smith can't be impactful if there is no time to get the ball in space.
It's still too early to completely write off a turnaround for the offensive line, but things look bleak in Pittsburgh.