The offseason hype surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line did not match the play on the field on Sunday, and Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings show just how far below expectations the offensive line played.
After slotting in at No. 12 ahead of the season, the Steelers now sit at No. 26, with four of their offensive linemen designated as weak links following the team’s 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Everyone offensive lineman on the Steelers except for RT Chukwuma Okorafor, who left the game late and whom Mike Tomlin said would go into concussion protocol, was identified as a weak link by PFF.
“Many expected the Steelers’ offensive line to improve, especially with the arrival of guard Isaac Seumalo, but the unit allowed 23 pressures against the 49ers in Week 1. They allowed more than that just once in 2022,” Zoltan Buday wrote.
The drop to No. 26 was also 10 spots lower than where the Steelers finished the season last year, when they came in at No. 16. It doesn’t seem like this year’s offensive line will be worse than last year’s, but Week One was not an impressive performance out of the group.
Part of that can be attributed to going up against one of the best defenses and pass-rushing teams in the league in San Francisco. But it still wasn’t good, with Dan Moore Jr. grading out as the worst offensive tackle in football and allowing nine pressures on Sunday, the second-highest total by an offensive tackle all week.
With a Cleveland Browns team featuring Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith coming to town, the Steelers are going to have to show improvement along the offensive line. While Mike Tomlin may have been happy with how the Steelers protected Pickett in the season opener, he was constantly under pressure and sacked five times in the loss. That’s not a winning formula, and you never like seeing your starting quarterback brought down that often in a game.
The Steelers might not see another defense and pass rush as talented as the 49ers this season, so hopefully Week One can just be chalked up to an anomaly and a unit that wasn’t fully prepared for what it was getting into. If the offensive line struggles continue, it wouldn’t be a shock to see some changes, particularly with first-round pick Broderick Jones waiting in the wings.
