Steelers could face long season without Rashard Mendenhall

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a number of injuries during Thursday’s 26-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans, but none perhaps worse than the Achilles’ injury suffered by running back Rashard Mendenhall.

But before we get to Mendenhall, a look at the rest of the injuries for the Steelers, who were already without perhaps their most important player, safety Troy Polamalu, who sat out the game because of an injured right calf. Center Maurkice Pouncey hurt his right leg on the first play of the game and missed the rest of the game. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert hurt his right ankle in the second quarter.

Running back Ike Redman hurt his right ankle. Safety Will Allen went out briefly with a stinger. Safety Ryan Clark also went to the sideline with an injured leg.

But it is the injury to Mendenhall that is most troublesome.

We should find out later today how serious the injury is, but if Mendenhall is out for a while, the Steelers won’t have much of a running game. He rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown in last week’s win over Philadelphia and is a key component to keeping pressure off of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The Steelers rely on their running game and their strong defense to win. They are already hampered on defense without Polamalu. If Mendenhall is out for a while, that will probably kill their running game too.

Result: A long season for the Steelers.

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