Steelers' Troy Fautanu And Max Iheanachor Face Serious Warning Signs After Bucs Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers won a game Sunday that their pass protection made unnecessarily difficult. Aaron Rodgers eventually authored a comeback, but Tampa Bay made him pay for every extra second he needed. Five sacks in a 26-19 overtime victory left a concern beneath the celebration. Pittsburgh thought its young tackles were settling in. A former Steelers lineman now sees a familiar problem returning on one side and a new one emerging on the other.

Former Steelers lineman Trai Essex put most of the blame for Aaron Rodgers' punishment on Pittsburgh's tackles. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered Sunday with only six sacks through five games, then recorded five more against Pittsburgh. Essex acknowledged that the quarterback shared some responsibility, but he did not see many coverage sacks where Rodgers simply held the ball too long.

His concerns centered on Troy Fautanu and Max Iheanachor, two first-round picks at different stages of development. Fautanu is in his third season, having moved from right tackle to left tackle under the new staff. Iheanachor, selected 21st overall in April, is a rookie learning what happens when NFL rushers recognize a technical mistake and immediately start hunting it.

Essex saw a particularly frustrating regression from Fautanu. Less than two weeks earlier, he had praised the left tackle's performance against the Cleveland Browns, grading him at 82% after a strong edge matchup. Tampa provided a less encouraging follow-up.

During his breakdown on The Snap Count, Essex identified specific technical problems that he believed Fautanu had already corrected.

“Troy did some things that he did the first two weeks that I thought he had rectified. He was missing his punch. He tried to trap one too many times… Troy was on skates a couple of times,” Essex said.

For an offensive tackle, the punch is not about throwing the hardest possible shot. Accurate hands and balance keep a rusher from taking control of the rep. Miss that strike, and the tackle can end up reaching from a vulnerable stance.

Being “on skates” is about as flattering as it sounds. An edge rusher who wins leverage can drive the blocker backward until the quarterback's throwing space begins disappearing. Rodgers cannot step into a clean throwing lane when his own left tackle is being pushed toward him.

The setback is especially irritating because Fautanu's Cleveland performance suggested the early issues had been corrected. Moving to the left side this offseason made hand placement and timing a natural focus, so another breakdown in those areas is hardly something Pittsburgh can shrug off. NFL defenses are paid to notice patterns. They do not need a formal invitation to test a shaky punch again next week.

Across the line, Essex was less worried about the rookie's raw ability than the decisions that put him out of position. Iheanachor's physical tools remain a legitimate strength, and his first few starts have shown stretches of the powerful run blocking that helped make him a first-round selection. His pass protection has been far less dependable.

“IMAX’s issue is that he was overaggressive… when to jump set and when to be aggressive in the pass rush versus when to settle back… From a physical standpoint, I don’t have any issues with him. It’s not like he got physically beat. He just overset or did some things from a body-positioning standpoint that put him in a bad position,” Essex said.

A jump set can be useful when a tackle wants to meet a rusher early and take away space. It also demands the correct angle and timing. Overset too far outside and a defender can cross the tackle's face; lunge forward and a counter move may leave the blocker trying to recover from behind the play.

Those are coachable errors for a rookie whose preseason was interrupted by injury, but opponents can exploit them until he learns patience. Essex's distinction is important: he is not arguing Pittsburgh drafted a tackle without NFL-caliber strength or movement ability. He is describing a talented young player arriving at the wrong place at the wrong moment.

The assessment also adds context to Pittsburgh's earlier split decision on the tackles. Essex previously liked Fautanu's performance against Cleveland while criticizing Iheanachor's punch and leverage. Against Tampa, the younger player's struggles remained technical, but Fautanu's improvement suddenly looked less secure.

Mike McCarthy and Offensive Coordinator Brian Angelichio cannot solve every individual protection loss with a clever call. They can adjust protections and offer tight-end help when warranted. Neither fix is free: leaving an extra blocker in protection removes a potential receiver from the route, and the passing game is already fighting to generate clean opportunities.

Steelers Need Their First-Round Tackles To Stop Giving Back Progress

Pittsburgh should be more concerned about Fautanu revisiting mistakes than Iheanachor learning from new ones. There is a higher expectation for a third-year player who appeared to be fixing his hands and adjusting to left tackle. The rookie deserves patience, but not permission to repeat the same overset indefinitely.

Rodgers eventually rescued Sunday's result, and Pittsburgh has every right to enjoy it. That does not make the five sacks a footnote. Tampa entered with six all season; one matchup nearly doubled its total. If the Steelers keep asking their quarterback to overcome that kind of protection, the next comeback may arrive a little too late.

Essex provided two different diagnoses, not one blanket verdict on the line. Fautanu has to regain the technique he seemed to be finding. Iheanachor has to learn when aggression becomes a gift to the defender. Pittsburgh needs both corrected before another slow start.

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