Leading up to Saturday night’s preseason matchup against the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers were dealt another blow along the offensive line.
After losing rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu for a few weeks after the preseason opener against the Houston Texans with a knee injury, veteran center Nate Herbig was lost for an extended period of time due to a shoulder injury suffered on the final day of training camp practices in Latrobe.
Those two injuries shuffled the offensive line up a bit for the Steelers Saturday night, with rookie Zach Frazier stepping in as the starting center and second-year pro Broderick Jones remaining at right tackle in the absence of Fautanu.
The results for the Steelers’ offensive line on Saturday night were, well, dreadful. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked three times in five series and had no time whatsoever to look downfield in the passing game.
For NFL.com’s Nick Shook, the performance from the Steelers’ offensive line, not just in pass protection but in the run game as well, where the Steelers very rarely got any push or had any holes, was very unsettling, to say the least.
“Rookie Troy Fautanu didn’t play Saturday, forcing Broderick Jones to move over to the right side to replace him, and leaving Dan Moore Jr. as Pittsburgh’s best option on the left side. The results were unsettling,” Shook writes regarding the biggest takeaway from the preseason matchup against the Bills. “Russell Wilson rarely had ample time to throw against Buffalo’s starting defense, neither Najee Harris nor Jaylen Warren had room to run, and the Steelers offense lacked punch throughout the duration of their matchup against Buffalo’s top group. Sure, it’s preseason, but much of this season will be predicated on how well the Steelers can block.
“Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith likes to run the ball, but that’s not possible without effective blocking up front. And the last thing an older Wilson needs is frequent pressure. Here’s to hoping the Steelers clean things up before the regular season arrives.”
Saying that the results from the Steelers’ offensive line were “unsettling” is putting it nicely. The line was dreadful from start to finish on the night, period.
Jones seemingly regressed hard on Saturday night, struggling mightily with his technique and hand usage. He had no power in his punches and was bullied throughout the night, allowing two sacks and multiple pressures. He’s dealing with an elbow injury that he suffered on the first day of padded practices in training camp, which could be hindering him.
But he was downright terrible.
James Daniels really struggled as well and was a liability, which seemingly overshadowed any sort of positives that the Steelers might have had at times in the trenches. Even the backups were a mess.
Coming into the preseason matchup, the belief was that the line was the strength of the Steelers’ offense and how it wants to play under coordinator Arthur Smith. But if you can’t pass protect and you cannot control the line of scrimmage in the run game, it’s hard to run any semblance of an offense.
Saturday’s showing from the offensive linemen was very concerning. They have to clean it up, and fast.
If not, it could be a very bumpy start to the regular season for the Black and Gold.
