After allowing 14 pressures and two sacks against the New York Giants in their Monday Night Football win, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell two spots in Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings to No. 26 ahead of their bye week. One positive development for Pittsburgh’s offensive line, though, is the play of G Isaac Seumalo, whose 74.7 PFF pass-blocking grade is 21st among 69 qualifying guards, Zoltán Buday noted.
Seumalo got off to a little bit of a slow start after returning from injury in Week 4, but he’s settled in nicely, becoming a steady presence on Pittsburgh’s offensive line. He and Dan Moore Jr. have held down the left side of Pittsburgh’s line, and Seumalo’s leadership and veteran presence have also helped out Mason McCormick, who was thrust into a starting job after RG James Daniels suffered a season-ending torn Achilles.
The Steelers’ line also should be getting healthier, with Zach Frazier a candidate to return following Pittsburgh’s bye week. Frazier suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 and has missed the last two games, meaning he hasn’t worked with Russell Wilson in a regular-season game yet, but Frazier was playing like one of the best centers in the league when he was healthy. Ryan McCollum struggled a bit against the Giants after a solid outing against the Jets, with Dexter Lawrence making some plays and McCollum allowing pressure on 11.4% of pass plays.
It’s tough to blame McCollum, as Lawrence gives even the best centers fits, but Frazier’s return to the lineup will be important for Pittsburgh. The key will be for Seumalo to continue to grow as a leader and keep up his high level of play as his performance over the last few weeks has helped elevate the line as a whole. He’s one of those players who can lead by example, and Seumalo taking his game to another level can raise the line as a whole.
Moore taking his game up a notch this season has also been a huge boon for Pittsburgh’s offensive line, but injuries have lowered the ceiling for what this group could be. Not having Daniels and Troy Fautanu for the rest of the season hurts, especially with Broderick Jones struggling mightily at right tackle, which is one of the reasons why the line is now ranked one of the worst in football. They haven’t been playing that poorly as a group, with Jones the only consistently bad performer, but there’s no doubt this group could be better if it was fully healthy. Still, Seumalo’s resurgence over the past few weeks has been important, and the Steelers are going to need that to continue post-bye week.
