Having played without right tackle Marcus Gilbert for the past four games the Steelers could run that streak to five Sunday when they travel to Denver.
Trouble is, his backup, Matt Feiler, is also now dealing with an injury.
Against a lot of opponents that wouldn't be a major issue. Against the Broncos, however, it could spell a lot of trouble. In Von Miller and rookie Bradley Chubb, the Broncos (4-6) have two outstanding pass rushers.
Miller, who lines up over the right tackle, already has recorded 10 sacks this season and has 93.5 since entering the league in 2011. Chubb, meanwhile, has recorded nine sacks in his first NFL season.
Protecting Ben Roethlisberger on his right side could fall to rookie Chuks Okorafor if Gilbert and Feiler are both unable to play this week.
Alejandro Villanueva, who is once again playing at a Pro Bowl level, would get Chubb on the left side. But blocking Miller could be an issue.
"He's a special player," Mike Tomlin said of Miller, whom he and his coaching staff got to work with at last season's Pro Bowl. "He's physically talented, intelligent. He's a scientist in his approach to his craft. It was obvious in watching him interact with the other Pro Bowlers just talking about the nature of rush and things of that nature. You see his mentorship in the growth and development of Bradley Chubb."
The Steelers (7-2-1) have allowed Roethlisberger to be sacked just 14 times this season. That is the third-fewest among quarterbacks with at least 300 passing attempts.
And the Steelers have done that without Gilbert in five total games this season after he also missed a win at Tampa Bay with a hamstring issue.
Gilbert has now missed 17 games because of injuries or suspension -- he missed four games because of a PED suspension in 2017 -- in the past three seasons.
This latest knee issue has lingered for over a month, having cropped up during the team's bye week. Tomlin said Gilbert has a chance to practice this week -- as does Feiler -- but has said similar things in each of the past couple of weeks to no avail.
"I wouldn't describe it as a setback," Tomlin said when I asked if Gilbert had suffered some kind of setback. "I would say it's probably not healing as fast as he or we would like. That's life."
As for Feiler, he is dealing with a pectoral muscle injury that he suffered in Sunday's 20-16 win at Jacksonville.
"It didn't limit him on any snaps in-game, but we want to watch him as we get into the front of the week and see what it does in his availability in the front part of the week," Tomlin said.
From that, it sounds as if, at the very least, the Steelers could have Feiler available to start the game against Denver. But finishing it could be another matter, especially against a speedy pass rusher such as Miller.
Feiler drew a tough assignment last week against Jacksonville's All-Pro defensive end Calais Campbell and allowed a sack. That's the second consecutive week he has been beaten for a sack.
But overall, he's played well, with the Steelers going 5-0 in games he's started.
Okorafor, a third-round draft pick, has played 66 offensive snaps this season, mostly as a blocking tight end on tackle-eligible plays, something the Steelers have done in the past with other young offensive tackles to give them an opportunity to get playing time early in their careers.
But doing that and blocking a player such as Miller one-on-one are two entirely different things.
"I've been pleased with his growth," Tomlin said. "The good thing, and it's one of the reasons why we take the thoughtful approach that we do with young tackles ... (is) we've played him at tight end some. He gets to report as eligible and get some in-game experience. It's a way for a young, developing tackle to get in-game experience and play. If he's called upon, it won't be the first time he's played for us. So, we'll expect him to play varsity ball."
Tomlin also said defensive end Stephon Tuitt could be limited early in the week after missing the game against Jacksonville with an elbow injury, while linebacker Anthony Chickillo, who suffered an ankle injury, is trying to work his way through that issue.
If Chickillo is unable to play Sunday in Denver, the Steelers could activate rookie Ola Adeniyi from injured reserve. Adeniyi said on Twitter Tuesday he expects to practice Wednesday. If that happens, the Steelers would then have 21 days to decide whether to activate him or keep him on IR for the remainder of the season.