The Baltimore Ravens lead the AFC North, but they dropped a divisional game against the Cleveland Browns yesterday. With the Pittsburgh Steelers waiting in the wings at 6-3 and in second place in the AFC North, the Good Morning Football crew discussed the division, and in particular, former NFL OL Shaun O’Hara had some praise for the Steelers, comparing them to the second-place car saving energy in NASCAR’s signature race.
“As we’re talking about these lead dogs, it’s kind of like the Daytona 500. Do you want to be leading that race for the first 350, 400 laps? I feel like that car right behind that’s been drafting behind you is just saving energy. And that team to me is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re second in the division right now at 6-3, and they’re just kind of hanging out,” O’Hara said.
With back-to-back wins against the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers, two teams below .500 teams, we’ll see if the Steelers have enough saved up to beat some better opponents. They have two divisional games up next against the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, and if the Steelers really have designs on winning the AFC North, they’re going to have to win at least one of those two games on the road. But they have six wins built up, and if they can continue to find a way to win down the stretch, O’Hara’s analogy just might prove to be correct.
He also praised Pittsburgh’s defense and said it’s a unit that teams don’t want to see in the postseason.
“The defense is coming up with huge plays. If it’s not T.J. Watt, it’s Alex Highsmith, and then no Minkah Fitzpatrick but Damontae Kazee makes the interception,” O’Hara said. “This Steelers team, nobody wants to play a team like this, defense like that in the playoffs.”
Kyle Brandt and Jamie Erdahl agreed.
“The Steelers put you through emotional roller coasters within the game, but then they win the game. The Bengals are putting people through emotional roller coasters within the season and the games are slipping away from them,” Erdahl said, comparing Pittsburgh to one of their AFC North opponents.
Meanwhile, Brandt said “it doesn’t make any sense” how the Steelers are 6-3 despite being outgained in every game but said it would be “annoying” to play against their defense in the playoffs.
A fully healthy Steelers defense is dangerous. Joey Porter Jr. has developed into a really talented cornerback even as a rookie, and Watt and Highsmith are two of the best pass rushers and defenders in the NFL. DL Cameron Heyward is back, and if Fitzpatrick can return soon, the Steelers will have a do-it-all piece in the back end of their secondary.
But this unit has been decimated by injuries at the inside linebacker position, losing Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season in back-to-back weeks. Both are talented players, and the communication issues plagued Pittsburgh yesterday. If that’s something they don’t figure out, it’s going to hurt the defense as a whole and the Steelers are going to give up big plays like they did against Green Bay yesterday.
But even with the injuries and communication issues, they were a bend-don’t-break unit, holding Green Bay to field goals and picking off two passes in the end zone. They’ve found a way to win, even if it looks ugly, and the pass rush does make it a scary defense to play. But the Steelers have to prove that their wins so far haven’t been empty and that they can beat the rest of the division (they already hold wins over the Browns and Ravens) when things matter in the second half of the season. If the Steelers play well the next two weeks, there’s no doubt that they’re a legitimate contender to win the division.
