CBS Sports took a quarterly look at each team in the NFL, putting them in categories from “The early heavyweights” to “Every day is a new nightmare.” The Steelers were put in “Literally the AFC North,” with if the name wasn’t obvious enough, the rest of the AFC North, a division that Pittsburgh currently leads. Cody Benjamin writes that it’s hard to believe the Steelers are above .500 through five games.
“It’s hard to believe the Steelers (3-2) are above .500 considering how ugly their Kenny Pickett-led attack has been, but [insert cliche about Mike Tomlin’s guys never quitting].”
The Steelers have won ugly, but they’ve won, and that’s what matters. The only downside is now we have to hear about the team always being .500 under Mike Tomlin for the umpteenth time. But sitting at 3-2 during their bye week with two of those wins coming against divisional opponents is a good spot to be.
There are flaws with this team, particularly on offense. The offense has been bad. There’s no other way around it. Kenny Pickett hasn’t shown the progress we saw in the preseason and during parts of the second half of last season, but he’s still shown the clutch gene that’s come to define his current tenure in Pittsburgh. He led the team to a come-from-behind win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five, and he’s shown some flashes.
He needs to be more consistent, but the offensive issues lie deeper, particularly with the offensive line being worse than expected and in turn the run game struggling to get going. So yeah, it is a little hard to believe this team has a winning record, but the defense, particularly the pass rush, has been good enough to get the job done. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are absolute dawgs, and the team’s also gotten a jolt from Larry Ogunjobi and an improved inside linebacker corps.
With the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars due up after the bye week, the Steelers will have a chance to prove they can continue to beat quality opponents and maintain their lead in the AFC North. The offense is going to have to improve for the Steelers to be a legitimate contender, but they’ve shown they can do just enough to win. But it’s hard to rely on the defense to play as well as they have thus far week in and week out, so hopefully the Steelers have a post-bye week offensive improvement like they did last year.
