Colin Cowherd has had his fair share of issues with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he never fails to give them credit when it’s due, and that was the case today on The Herd. Cowherd broke down Pittsburgh’s 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, and he said the win was a lot more impressive than people think.
“That’s a more impressive win than people are giving it credit for,” Cowherd said. “You’re on the road, despite the crowd dynamics, you’re on the road, this is a team, the Rams, that dominated Seattle. That went toe-to-toe with San Francisco. If you go look at Pittsburgh in Week One, they were awful. You look at the Pittsburgh Steelers today, and listen, Mike Tomlin can drive me crazy, they can’t figure out the run game consistently…this team is significantly better today than six weeks ago.”
Obviously, despite it being a road game, there was a whole lot of Black and Gold in the crowd, as Steeler Nation once again took over a West Coast venue. But the Steelers still had to deal with the flight, getting used to West Coast time and playing in an unfamiliar environment. Despite having what sounded like a home crowd behind them, it wasn’t a home game, and winning on the road isn’t easy in the NFL. From that aspect alone, it’s an impressive win.
And the Rams are a good team, especially on offense. While losing Kyren Williams weakened their running back room, Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson were capable replacements, and Pittsburgh did a good job of taking Cooper Kupp out of the game. Matthew Stafford completed under 50% of his passes, and while Puka Nacua got his, largely due to Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson not having the speed to keep up with him on crossing routes, the Steelers’ defense held firm in the second half and held the Rams to just eight points.
On top of that, the offense looked the best it has all season in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 14-0 and clinching the win before the two-minute warning. The Steelers looked awful in the first half, and good in the second half. It’s a familiar story, but the fourth-quarter performance coupled with the return of Diontae Johnson gives the Steelers something to build off. If they can, they’ll be a dangerous team in the second half of the season.
QB Kenny Pickett played with confidence, something Cowherd praised him for on his podcast and it’s something he’s done his whole career. He doesn’t flinch in crucial situations in the fourth quarter, and it’s helped the Steelers win. They’re 11-4 in their last 15 games, and this is a team that’s a lot better than it was early in the season. They have to build on it and carry it over into another tough matchup against the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars next week, but I’m more excited about this team than I have been since before Week One.
