Steelers' Mike Tomlin Blatantly Lies Calling 1 Players Horrible Performance 'Above The Line'

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a step backwards as a team on Sunday night as the group fell to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 25-10. The scoreboard made the game look closer than it actually was as Pittsburgh was able to put a late touchdown on the board, but the offensive side of the ball was dormant for the Steelers for the majority of the game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was missing throws and the offensive line played poorly as the veteran QB was under constant duress in the backfield. He didn't have much time to evaluate the defense all night.

The offensive line for the Steelers was in tough shape going into this matchup as left guard Isaac Seumalo was ruled out. That meant Spencer Anderson would be starting at left guard, and he has earned a name for himself in Pittsburgh's jumbo package as an extra offensive lineman. In order to keep the jumbo package alive, the Steelers also played Andrus Peat at left guard and moved Anderson to the extra offensive lineman whenever the offense wanted to run something out of that specific formation. Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the offensive line play during his press conference on Tuesday, and he had good things to say about both Peat and Anderson.

"You know, specifically, talking about Spencer Anderson and Peat, I thought that they were above the line," Tomlin said. "So that's the new component of it, just relative to the question that you asked. But just largely as an offensive line, certainly we could have protected better in that football game."

Anderson played most of the game at left guard, but Peat played eight snaps at the position when Anderson moved in the alignment to be the extra offensive lineman. On the first play of the game, Peat was lined up at left guard and he jumped early, which resulted in a false start penalty and put Pittsburgh behind the chains right out of the gate. Anderson was responsible for four pressures in the game as well. That doesn't sound like play that is "above the line." 

In all, Anderson was responsible for four pressures, three hurries, and one hit on Rodgers. That is not acceptable play, even for a backup. The main priority of the Steelers coming into the 2025 season was protecting their 41-year old quarterback, and that did not happen on Sunday against the Chargers. Anderson has done a great job in 2025 as an extra lineman, but he put forth a rough performance as a starter in Week 10.

The offensive line was showing improvement over the last several weeks, but the loss to the Chargers was a big step in the wrong direction. Hopefully most of that can be attributed to Seumalo missing from the lineup. He should be able to practice in a limited capacity this week, and he could be back in the starting lineup for the matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11.

Steelers' Isaac Seumalo Makes Those Around Him Better

Seumalo is a veteran of the game and he is the oldest player on the offense outside of Rodgers. He is a good player in his own right, but his veteran presence is also crucial due to the overall youth of the rest of the offensive line. He is also crucial for left tackle Broderick Jones, who has been shaky and inconsistent in his first full season at the position in the NFL. Jones has struggled at times, and having a good veteran like Seumalo next to him will only help.

Hopefully Seumalo can return in Week 11, because once he does, Rodgers should regain some confidence in the offensive line, which will hopefully lead to him playing better moving forward.

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