Steelers vs. Colts: Should Pittsburgh Be Concerned About Leaky O-Line?

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, 23-20, but the win raised more questions than they answered.

It was certainly not the dominating performance that everyone expected, with the Steelers' greatest weakness being exploited by the Colts' greatest strength.

For yet another season, it appears the Steelers are struggling behind a cobbled-together offensive line. Last night, they couldn't run the ball against the Colts' 30th-ranked run defense, and they couldn't get their passing game in order either.

The combination of Indianapolis defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis and injury were often too much for the Steelers to handle.

Outmatched by a supposedly inferior opponent, the future does not bode well for Pittsburgh without further attempts to shore up a line that allows defenders in while not helping running backs make it out.

The Steelers are no stranger to offensive line injuries and the troubles that creates, nor are they unfamiliar with blown blocking assignments and being outmatched man-to-man.

Last night, it was more of the same: Left tackle Jonathan Scott was either harassed by Freeney, missing his blocks or drawing penalties.

Rookie right tackle Marcus Gilbert fared no better against Mathis, and then left with a shoulder injury, as did right guard Doug Legursky; the two were replaced by their last remaining dressed linemen, Ramon Foster and Trai Essex.

If an offensive line is so bad that a running back can't gain significant yards behind it and a quarterback has no time to throw game-changing passes, then it makes it hard for a team to win games.

The Steelers have known for some time about their weaknesses on the line; granted, they've had much success playing around or playing through those weaknesses and are able to win games almost in spite of their bad line play—just look to Sunday night as an example.

However, that's not how a team wants to operate; Pittsburgh certainly does not strive to have the kind of offensive line they are currently stuck with, but the longer they go winning games with this issue hanging over their heads, the lower the likelihood the team will feel the immediate pressure to improve drastically.

The Steelers have every component necessary to make yet another deep run in the playoffs this year—except one. With nothing being a given in the NFL, they need to improve that offensive line if they are going to hope for success as the season wears on.

I have a feeling what we saw on Sunday night against the Colts will recur for the Steelers a number of times this year; whether those contests end with a Pittsburgh win will determine exactly how quickly the offensive line issues get addressed and turned around.