Steelers lose Maurkice Pouncey for season with ACL & MCL tears

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a lot more than a game on Sunday when they were defeated by the Tennessee Titans to open the 2013 season on a bad note.

They also lost Pro-Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey for the season after he was carted off the field with a knee injury in the first quarter and also lost middle linebacker Larry Foote to a biceps injury.

Sep 8, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey (53) is attended to by team trainers after suffering an apparent injury against the Tennessee Titans during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed in his postgame press conference that Pouncey will need both ACL and MCL surgery as Foote has a ruptured bicep.

It is not currently known how much time Foote will miss, nor is the severity of LaRod Stephens-Howling’s knee injury or ankle injury of Cortez Allen known at this time.

But one thing is known and that’s the fact that Pouncey is the one guy the Steelers can least afford to lose, next to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

It was likely that the Steelers’ offensive line wasn’t going to be very good even with Pouncey, but without him this line could be a disaster waiting to happen.

You saw a glimpse of how bad they could be on Sunday when after Pouncey was injured, Roethlisberger was sacked five times and was under pressure almost every time he dropped back to pass.

Kelvin Beachum filled in for Pouncey after the injury, which marked the first time he has ever played the position at any level.

You can almost guarantee that Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert will be out looking for a center during the next couple of days, but no matter who he signs, it will be next to impossible to replace the anchor of their offensive line.

Some losses are just ones that are lost on the scoreboard, this one proved to be even more costly than that for the Steelers.