Pittsburgh Steelers Offense Loses Key Piece Before Atlanta Falcons Clash

The Atlanta Falcons defense will face an undermanned Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line in Sunday's season opener.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without guard Isaac Seumalo in Sunday's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. / charles leclaire-usa today sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without a critical component to an already questionable unit in Sunday's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced in his press conference Tuesday that starting left guard Isaac Seumalo is out for Sunday's game due to a pectoral injury.

In Seumalo's absence, second-year pro Spencer Anderson has received extensive first-team snaps in practice. Tomlin said Tuesday that Anderson is the next man up behind Seumalo and will make his first career start Sunday.

Seumalo, a 77-game starter, was the second most experienced player on Pittsburgh's offensive line, trailing only right guard James Daniels, who has made 80 starts. The Steelers will have rookie Zach Frazier starting at center, with fourth-year pro Dan Moore Jr. working at left tackle and second-year player Broderick Jones at right tackle.

Pittsburgh was already set to enter the season with question marks on its offensive line. Now, it has another -- though Tomlin expressed confidence in the unit Tuesday.

"There's a lot of meat on that growth bone, and we've seen a lot of it, to be quite honest with you, for several reasons," Tomlin said. "We had some young guys that drafted high in the Draft and showed the NFL is not too big for them, and I imagine they'll continue to show that and continue to grow with exposure."

But for as much uncertainty exists on the Steelers' offensive line, the Falcons have an innate understanding of Pittsburgh's offense. The unit is led by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who spent the past three seasons as Atlanta's head coach and was fired Jan. 7 after a third consecutive 7-10 season.

It's a two-way street, as Smith also has a deep understanding of the Falcons' defensive personnel, even with a new scheme and play-caller in coordinator Jimmy Lake.

Steelers' new-starting quarterback was already one of the most-sacked players in the NFL dating back to his days in Seattle. Wilson took 100 sacks in 30 games with the Broncos. Smith will enter Sunday looking to make a strong first impression on his new team -- but his task has grown more difficult with Seumalo's absence.

The two sides will kick off at 1 p.m. inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.