5 Burning Questions Facing the Steelers Heading Into Cincinnati

The glory of the Steelers tight victory over the Eagles faded quickly in to despair over yet another road game lost late in the fourth quarter. Larry Foote himself has mentioned the word "Panic Button."

No one is quite pushing the panic button here, but we do have 5 Burning Questions that Steelers Nation is struggling with as the men in Black and Gold prepare to head off to the Queen City of Cincinnati, Ohio.

1. When David DeCastro went on IR, most expected Trai Essex to take his roster spot. The Steelers opted to sign Marcus VanDyke instead, gambling that they'd could get by with only 8 linemen. With perfect 20/20 hind sight, was that a wise gamble?

2. Speaking of lineman, Maurkice Pouncey and Marcus Gilbert ailing leaving the Steelers dangerously thin at offensive line. Why then did to go out and sign a defensive lineman, Corbin Bryant, to replace suspended Alameda Ta'aamu, a man who has never dressed. Is there more than meets the eye here?

3. Beginning in the third quarter of three road games now, the Steelers defense has shown a chronic inability to get off the field on 3rd downs. How would you divide the blame for giving up late leads among the 3 sub-units of the Steelers defense?

4. Unlike Lombardi he's got no cult following. Unlike Bill Walsh and Bill Parcells he's not convinced of his own genius. Unlike Don Shula and Joe Gibbs, he's was never popular with the press. Compared to other multiple Super Bowl winners, Chuck Noll remains a mystery. Noll is now the subject of a biography. If there was one question you ask his biography to definitively answer, what would that question be?

5. After the Steelers traded away 'Tone they told the rest of the locker room that no more off the field incidents would be tolerated. Have they opened themselves to a double standard by not punishing Alameda Ta'amu more harshly than a simple two-game suspension?