Pittsburgh Steelers: 4 Players Who Must Step Up Week 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers versus Baltimore Ravens rivalry game received all the billings of a heavyweight bout leading up to this past weekend's games. Instead, fans that tuned into the nationally televised game witnessed a shocker.

The Ravens put together an absolute drubbing on Sunday, setting a franchise record in turnovers with seven and ending the Steelers' eight-game winning streak in opening day games.

Nothing seemed like it was going to go right for Pittsburgh from the start, after Ray Rice took off for a 36-yard run on the Ravens first play.

The poor showing left open all the questions about whether the team's defense is becoming too old and Ben Roethlisberger certainly did not look like a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.

A lot went wrong on Sunday, but if Mike Tomlin an Co. want things turned around quickly there are a few players that need to step it up before Week 2's action arrives.

Ben Roethlisberger

Of the seven turnovers the Steelers coughed up in Baltimore, five of them can be attributed to Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles.

The first turnover occurred after the Ravens drove 66 yards in three plays on their opening drive. Roethlisberger fumbled the ball on a sack by Terrell Suggs.

The first half ended with that being the only turnover and the score was 21-7 Ravens. But there was an air of hope that the Steelers could get things turned around.

What ensued were three interceptions, two of which looked flat out horrendous, and fumbles from Big Ben and Rashard Mendenhall.

For comparisons sake, in 12 games last season Roethlisberger threw just five interceptions and lost three fumbles.

The Steelers are a team that always seem to be a threat to win the Super Bowl but if Roethlisberger doesn't correct the miscues he exhibited in Week 1 this team doesn't stand a chance. 

Rashard Mendenhall

Last season, Rashard Mendenhall got off to a fast start with more than 425 all-purpose yards through four weeks.

On Sunday, he only managed to pick-up 45 yards on 12 carries.

Mendenhall struggled mightily in the Steelers' two games against the Ravens last season as well, averaging a mere 2.8 yards per carry and 62 yards rushing a game.

Maybe we can take Week 1's action with a grain of salt in that respect, but there is another little known tidbit that is up for debate concerning the running back.

In 2010, no other running back took as many carries as Mendenhall's 385 (including postseason play).

That puts him over the "Curse of 370," which states that any running back that is given more than 370 carries in a season is destined for a lousy year the following season.

We can give him another week to prove he can beat the curse or maybe this year every team will be like running against the Baltimore defense was last year. Either way, Mendenhall needs to get more than 12 touches a game as bell cow running back.

I can guarantee the Seattle Seahawks will get a heavier dose of the fourth-year back than the Ravens did. 

(Insert Name of Whoever Starts at Right Tackle Next Week)

Starting right tackle Willie Colon had it revealed on Monday, that he suffered a torn triceps muscle in Sunday's action and is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Colon is arguably the team's best offensive lineman so this injury may prove to be disastrous for the team's protection schemes.

As of Tuesday morning the Steelers have rookie tackle Marcus Gilbert and second-year tackle Chris Scott on the roster to takeover in Colon's stead. However, the team recently released tackles Flozell Adams and Max Starks before the season started—both remain unsigned.

Whoever it is that does move into the starting role must improve their play to help shore up an offensive line that struggled mightily against the Baltimore, namely Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. 

All 11 Players on Defense

The vaunted Pittsburgh defense was nowhere to be found in Week 1.

The Ravens trounced a defense that allowed an average of 62.8 yards rushing a game last season for 170 yards.

In 2010, the Steelers finished tied for third in the league in takeaways but failed to come up with even one on Sunday.

There were simply too many big plays given up, both on the ground and in the air.

It's hard to imagine Pittsburgh without a dominant top-10 defense, but if age has finally gotten to them and they have lost a collective step things will get ugly fast in the Steel City. 

Count on Troy Polamalu and James Harrison providing the spark to get this elite defense back to the level it has played at for the better part of a decade. 

Wrap-Up

Week 1 is a bit early to go into full blown panic mode. It's not as though the Baltimore Ravens are some lousy team for the Steelers to walk over twice a year.

Perhaps the Steelers just had one of those games when everyone just seems to be flat.

But if they start the season off 0-2, history has shown that good things do not typically happen down the road as the season draws to a close.

Look for the Steelers to come show up in a major way in their Week 2 tilt against the Seattle Seahawks.