3-0 is 3-0. The Steelers first three games haven’t been the prettiest. But Team President Art Rooney II likes the way Pittsburgh has fought through adversity during an especially adverse season. He spoke with DVE 102.5 on Wednesday largely to talk about this week’s game against the Tennessee Titans but also touched on the first three games.
“Being three and zero, it wasn’t always pretty and we’ll take it whatever way we can get it,” Rooney told the show. “I liked the way, number one, our team sort of fought through the game on Sunday. You know, we were down 14 to three at one point and they just kept fighting. I liked the attitude of this team. I think they feel like they can accomplish something this season. And we all know there are ups and downs and every season, but three and zero is a great way to start that’s for sure.”
As only the Steelers can, they’ve made teams sweat through an undefeated start to the season. Pittsburgh fell behind early versus the New York Giants in the opener, Daniel Jones hitting Darius Slayton for the game’s first touchdown, before the Steelers settled in and won relatively comfortably. The following week versus Denver was even dicier, the Broncos storming back and nearly taking the lead in the final moments. And as Rooney mentioned, Houston raced out to a 14-3 lead before Pittsburgh adjusted and shut Deshaun Watson down in the second half.
Things haven’t been easy. Clearly. Ben Roethlisberger is still shaking off rust, the secondary hasn’t played as well as it did last year, and though Pittsburgh played clean last Sunday, there’s been too many penalties and ill-timed turnovers. But there’s no denying the team having the right mentality and fight, starting the season 3-0 for the first time since 2010.
It’ll be a battle of undefeated whenever the Steelers take on the Titans. Tennessee is in a similar boat of an uneasy 3-0, if there is such a thing. Stephen Gostkowski’s missed field goals made Week One a nail-biter. Gostkowski was called on again in Week Two, booting a 49 yarder to beat Jacksonville in the final two minutes. And Gostkowski hit a third game-winner to beat Minnesota despite the Vikings rushing for over 200 yards on the Titans’ front seven.
A win against Tennessee will push Pittsburgh to 4-0 for the first time since 1979, where they of course won the final Super Bowl of the 70s dynasty.
