Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that the initial diagnosis of safety Troy Polamalu is that he has a sprained MCL and will likely be out for the next three to six weeks.

From the Washington Post:

“It’s an MCL sprain,” Tomlin said during his postgame news conference. “They are reading the scans and so forth. Those things have a range of three to six [weeks]. It’s speculation at this point.”

Tomlin was asked if the injury possibly could be worse, and said: “I’m sure there is a possibility of it. But I don’t have any concrete evidence that there is anything more than that.”

Polamalu suffered the injury when the Titans’ Alge Crumpler landed on his knee after a blocked field goal attempt by Tennessee in the first half. Polamalu had an interception and was credited with six tackles before leaving the game.

It looks like the “Madden Curse” claimed another victim. Losing Polamalu for three to six weeks would be tough. Losing him for anything longer than that would be devastating for the defending champs.

The Steelers have a star-studded defense and everyone does their jobs to perfection. But they’re a different squad when they don’t have Polamalu freelancing and making big plays. He’s a missile in run support and blankets the entire field in coverage. They need him healthy and an injury lasting longer than six weeks would take its toll on Pittsburgh’s vaunted defense.

Don’t forget that the Steelers are already without linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who didn’t play last night because of an ankle injury. Depending on his status for next week, the Steelers could be down two key defensive starters and Week 1 still hasn’t wrapped up yet.

The highly anticipated first game of the NFL season is tonight at 7:30 p.m. as the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers host the Titans at Heinz Field. Here are five things to watch as the 2009 NFL season kicks off with this opening matchup.

1. The Steeler offensive line.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted that Pittsburgh became a Super Bowl contender last year when the offensive line gelled late in the season. What was supposed to be an Achilles heel for the Steelers actually turned out to be the thing that lifted them to a Super Bowl title. Now Pittsburgh has one of the more cohesive offensive lines in the league and while no one player stands out, the entire unit works well together and it’ll be interesting to see if they pick up tonight where they left off last February in Tampa.

2. How will the Titans fare without Albert Haynesworth?
Haynesworth was the key cog in Tennessee’s defense the past couple years while commanding double teams and freeing up those around him to make plays. In steps Tony Brown, a player coming off a great ’09 season and one that must fill the massive shoes left by Haynesworth. Brown is more than capable as an interior pass-rusher, but he probably won’t command double-teams like Haynesworth did. How will his linemates Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jason Jones fare now that they might not see one-on-one matchups like they did when Haynesworth was playing next to them?

3. Do the Titans still lack offensive playmakers?
Running back Chris Johnson burst on the scene last year as a rookie, averaging 4.9 yards a carry and totaling 10 touchdowns (9 on the ground, 1 through the air). But it was clear in Tennessee’s loss to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Round that the Titans lacked offensive playmakers. So they signed former Steeler Nate Washington and drafted Kenny Britt in the first round to give their receiving corps a boost. Will it be enough? We won’t find out about Washington tonight as he continues to battle an injured hamstring, but Britt practiced with the starting offense all week and will get an opportunity to play. Although he lacks elite speed, Britt was a monster after the catch while playing at Rutgers and could give quarterback Kerry Collins a nice weapon tonight in the passing game.

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