Now on the comedown of their Sunday night high, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a brief period of realization as the dust settles from their 31-28 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Sunday’s victory saw the Steelers put up monster numbers on offense – numbers that many expected to be the norm at the season’s beginning. With 31 points scored, 28 first downs, over 300 yards passing and over 100 yards rushing, the Steelers offense arguably had their greatest offensive output in almost two full years.
The Steelers totalled 462 yards of offense against the Packers, which is their biggest offensive output since they recorded 522 yards of offense against the Indianapolis Colts on December 6th 2015, almost two years to Sunday’s date. The parallels do not end there between the two-highlighted games. For the first time since facing the Colts two years ago, the Steelers managed not only 300 yards passing but also over 100 yards rushing in the same game.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led in almost similar fashion, throwing for over 350 yards and four touchdowns against the Packers’ defense, just as he had thrown for over 360 yards and four touchdowns against the Colts two years ago. Le’Veon Bell may have been absent two seasons ago due to injury, but the running back led the way on the ground Sunday, rushing for 95 yards.
But if there is one more similarity to like between the two contests, it is the foreshadowing that the Steelers offense may still not be going full throttle.
When the Steelers piled over 500 yards of offense and 45 points on the Colts, the Steelers were in the midst of a six-game span in which the team would record 30 or more points. The current Steelers are also showing signs of explosiveness, scoring 40 and 31 points in their last two games. One major reason to bet on the Steelers catching fire and building on their offensive explosion, is the recent play of Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger has thrown for 650 yards, while adding eight touchdowns and just two interceptions in his last two games. The Steelers’ quarterback has also completed 70-percent of his passes, a completion percentage that would be even higher if it were not for a handful of drops. Incredibly, Roethlisberger is playing even better than the previously mentioned six game span from 2015 when the quarterback threw for 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
With a rejuvenated Roethlisberger, the Steelers could finally be finding their groove on offense. Sunday night’s offensive performance not only served as the Steelers best showing yardage wise in almost two full seasons but could be catalyst for another offensive surge. With a road battle against the Cincinnati Bengals set for next Monday night, and a home date with the New England Patriots looming, the timing could not be more perfect for another late season surge from Roethlisberger and company.
