The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a deflating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15, and the fan base is starting to get some familiar feelings about the team. Feelings which have become far too real the past few seasons when it was clear the Steelers were a “cut below” the best of the best in both the AFC and the NFL.

While those feelings are warranted, the past two games have made some absences in the lineup, all due to injury, more than glaring when it comes to the performance on the field.

The most obvious answer to this question is wide receiver George Pickens, who has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury. Throughout an entire offseason of wide receiver turmoil, fans were asking what it would look like if Pickens was not in the lineup without a true WR2 on the depth chart.

Well, we’ve seen what that looks like, and it hasn’t been pretty. Against a top tier defense like Philadelphia the offense was unable to get any separation, and the Eagles crowded the line of scrimmage to both jam the receivers and stop the run at the same time. There was no real threat down the field, and the Steelers struggled to move the ball.

But we all knew this was likely when Pickens injured his hamstring and was ruled out against the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago. The injury which has been equally as pronounced, if you’ve been paying attention, has been the hamstring injury to DeShon Elliott.

In the game vs. the Eagles, without Elliott the team had to completely alter their plan at safety without Elliott in the lineup. Minkah Fitzpatrick was moved into Elliott’s role near the line of scrimmage and covering tight ends/running backs, Damontae Kazee took over for Fitzpatrick in the deep secondary, and Cam Sutton was called onto the field when the team wanted to deploy the a three safety look defensively.

While Minkah did plenty in the Elliott role, the back half of the secondary was more than exposed, especially when Donte Jackson left the game with a back injury, and the Eagles had their way against the Pittsburgh secondary. The Steelers tried everything on defense, but nothing worked. Man coverage, zone coverage, Tampa 2. Didn’t matter, the Eagles had an answer for it.

The question now remains if/when these two players return, will it matter? Will their returns be significant?

As for Pickens, the answer is a resounding yes. Pickens just being on the field has a threat on the outside which they don’t have if Pickens is sidelined. Fans clamor for Mike Williams, but I’m not sure even Williams is even close to an answer for the Steelers offense to have the threat on the outside which opens up the rest of the offense and keeps the defense from loading the box.

For Elliott, his play this season has been underscored all year, but I don’t think you can see the defense without him and not have a newfound appreciation for what Elliott has done this year. This isn’t just about having to move safeties around to fill the void by Elliott, but also about the skill set he brings to the defense.

Elliott is one of the defense’s best open field tacklers, and you have to see how glaring that was when Donte Jackson, and others, were absolutely abused in the open field vs. the Eagles. On top of his open field tackling, Elliott is tremendous in coverage and has been a pleasant surprise for the Steelers defense in that regard.

As the classic rock song by Cinderella says, “Don’t know what you’ve got, till it’s gone.”

Well, the Steelers, and their fan base, have seen what they have without Pickens and Elliott in the lineup, and let’s hope we don’t have to see the lineup without them for much longer…the team needs them in a bad way.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the regular season starting with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.