The Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting quarterback, but that might not solve all their problems. During the preseason, one glaring area of weakness was their young offensive line. They’ve been hit with quite a few injuries there though, so maybe that unit will look better once the regular season starts. However, the line is suspect at the moment, and former offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. believes it won’t really be tested until Week 5.
Appearing on The Mina Kimes Show, Golic, who spent time with the Steelers in training camp in 2013, pinpointed when the Steelers’ offensive line will be tested.
“That Cowboys game is going to be the real first smell test of that,” Golic said. “The image of what Buffalo did to them in the preseason up front is going to live with me for a while. That was the first Russ [Wilson] outing we saw where both him and [Justin] Fields were getting destroyed.”
Golic is correct that the second preseason game for the Steelers saw them getting dominated up front. In particular, Broderick Jones looked outmatched at every turn. He did put together a better performance the following week though. However, it still doesn’t sound like he’s certain of where he’ll be playing to start the season, so who knows what position he’ll play against the Cowboys in Week 5.
Also, it isn’t like the Steelers won’t see a variety of fearsome pass rushers before they play the Cowboys either. In Week 1, they’ll see Matt Judon and Arnold Ebiketie. In Week 3, they’ll host the Los Angeles Chargers, who have Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, one of the best of pass-rushing tandems in the league. The Steelers’ offensive line might need to start quicker than Golic believes.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, they’ll be without Isaac Seumalo, their best offensive lineman, for the first few games of the season. Therefore, they could end up with three rookies starting in that group. They’re talented players, but that would be really throwing them into the fire. Getting to the Cowboys game with the quarterback in one piece would be a success, let alone escaping that game alive.
That Cowboys game will be such a huge test not because they have a deep stable of pass rushers but because they have Micah Parsons, one of the few defensive players on the same level as T.J. Watt. Parsons is a one-man wrecking crew and is surely going to cause problems for the Steelers. That isn’t even taking into account DeMarcus Lawrence, who is also one of the NFL’s most consistent pass rushers.
There’s still a lot of time before the Steelers play the Cowboys, and a lot could change between now and then. For the moment, the Steelers should be focusing on how to keep the Falcons’ pass rush in check. Their offensive line is young and unproven, but they have talent there. If that unit can start the season off on the right foot, maybe it will perform well against the Cowboys.
