While skill-position highlights dominate headlines, offensive line execution dictates an offense's true ceiling. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, recent tape reveals a glaring concern on the perimeter. Steelers offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Max Iheanachor are struggling to secure the edges.
During Pittsburgh’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both starting tackles experienced a rough day in pass protection and run blocking. According to Christopher Carter on his “Locked on Steelers” podcast, the technical breakdowns on the outside limited quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ time in the pocket and completely neutralized the team's perimeter ground attack.
"Troy Fautanu, Max Iheanachor," noted Carter. "Both allowed four pressures, both allowed two quarterback hurries, and both allowed a sack in this game."
Carter highlighted how their pass-blocking struggles directly translated into a non-existent outside running game.
"When they ran outside the tackles, when they tried to go off of these guys where they're out wide, nothing happened. They ran out wide seven times in this game and they got six yards on those seven carries,” added Carter.
What makes the performance troubling is that Tampa Bay's edge rushers were not expected to dominate the line of scrimmage against the run.
"The fact that the Steelers ran up the middle against Vita Vea and A’Shawn Robinson better than they did against Yaya Diaby and Reuben Bain," explained guest Alan Saunders, "I think that's a bit of an indictment on the play of the tackles."
Saunders added context on Iheanachor's learning curve: "Max got hooked on that one that crossed his space. He's a rookie, that's going to happen. But that was the one where I really thought Aaron didn't have a chance."
If head coach Mike McCarthy wants to build a balanced, physical offense, stabilizing tackle play on the edge is imperative. Until Fautanu and Iheanachor set firmer edges, Pittsburgh’s offense will remain constrained.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Tackle struggles are putting a ceiling on Pittsburgh's offense