Three initial starters on the offensive line have suffered injuries of varying degree. So have many of the skill-position players on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.
One of the few constants has been Matt Feiler. The same way it has been since he first earned a starting role 25 months ago — even if, in 2020, it’s at a different position.
Feiler has been reliable and steady for the Steelers this season at guard. He’s played every snap of the season except for three kneeldowns at the end of a blowout win against the Cleveland Browns last month.
After 1½ seasons as the starting right tackle, Feiler is proving just as capable as a starting left guard.
“It took some time to get used to again,” Feiler said of the position change that was born out of the retirement of longtime Steelers left guard Ramon Foster in addition to the Steelers’ depth at tackle. “Going from the right side to the left side, you just kind of to switch your feet up and reverse everything I’ve been doing for the last year and a half. So it took a little time. But every week I get more and more comfortable with it. I think I started off a little slow, but I’m feeling better and starting to get more confident there.”
While it’s difficult to quantify the play of an interior offensive lineman, Feiler on Sunday had what Pro Football Focus determined was his highest-rated game of the season and fourth-highest rated game (among 34 starts) in his career. Per PFF, he did not allow a sack or quarterback hit in the win at the Baltimore Ravens.
The league’s stats service says the Steelers have the NFL’s seventh-best rushing average (4.88 per carry) when rushing in the direction of the left guard. The Steelers are only better running off right tackle, a spot Chuks Okorafor has manned since Week 2.
#Steelers Matt Feiler is living the “dream.” A move three spots to his left isn’t going to end it. https://t.co/ZGHWLj3BqI
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) August 23, 2020
With the exception of one game he missed in late 2018, the three meaningless snaps against the Browns are the only ones Feiler has missed since taking over for an injured Marcus Gilbert during the seventh game of the 2018 season. In his Steelers career, he’s started at three positions.
Feiler joins starting left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and initial 2020 starting right tackle Zach Banner as free agents at the end of the season. Banner is out because of a torn ACL suffered in the season opener.
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