The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to make NFL history weekly — and not exactly in the good way.
Despite being 6-3 on the season, the Steelers are a picture of mediocrity on the offensive side of the football. That shows in the streak they are currently on, having been outgained in all nine games this season, becoming just the 24th team in NFL history to do so in a season’s first nine games.
Yet, the Steelers are the only team in that 24-team group to have a winning record at this point.
It’s like the Jesse Pinkman scene out of “Breaking Bad.” He can’t keep getting away with this!
Well, they are.
The Steelers keep finding ways to win, and that has them firmly in the AFC playoff picture. For CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr, he believes the Steelers are going to stay there — for good — this season, regardless of how things might look offensively.
“At this point, hands are just thrown up with the Steelers. Pittsburgh is 6-3 and has been outgained in every game this season, the first team in NFL history to have a winning record despite being outgained in each of the first nine games. This is the best record during any nine-game single-season streak of being outgained in NFL history,” Kerr writes regarding it not being an overreaction that the Steelers are a playoff team.
“Pittsburgh recorded its 19th win without scoring 25-plus points in the past three seasons, tied for the most in any three-year span since 2000. No matter how poor the Steelers are offensively, they find ways to win games.”
Those numbers should be rather damning for the Steelers, highlighting a serious problem with the offense in the three years under offensive coordinator Matt Canada. And yet, it’s not that big of a problem overall because the Steelers are a young offense figuring things out, and they’re still winning while doing so.
That’s especially important to head coach Mike Tomlin, who cites that all the time. It’s reasonable to expect growth and progress, but you better do so while winning. To the Steelers’ credit, they are.
It might not look pretty, but the Steelers are closing games late in the fourth quarter, making plays in the weighty moments while the opponent folds.
“The Steelers are running the ball more efficiently now, using that and their strong defense to control the flow of the game,” Kerr writes. “Pittsburgh rushed for 205 yards this week after rushing for 166 the week prior, a formula that’s working for a team that struggles to move the ball.”
In the last two weeks, the formula of pounding the rock and splitting the load between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren has worked and worked quite well. Add in the fact that the Steelers inserted rookie Broderick Jones into the lineup at right tackle two weeks ago and have since turned in their best rushing performances of the season, it’s no coincidence.
Now, if Pittsburgh could just put together an even average passing attack, coupled with a defense that doesn’t give up many points and takes the football away at a right rate, it could be a dangerous team. The Steelers are firmly in the playoff picture now. Keep developing and find something more offensively and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them elevate to contender status.
