The Pittsburgh Steelers won their Week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers to advance to 6-3. This puts them firmly in the playoff picture past the halfway point of the season, but that doesn’t mean it has been pretty. In fact, it has been rather ugly. The Steelers have had six or more wins at this point in a season 14 different times since 2000, but the 2023 group has been outgained by 865 yards, by far the biggest negative differential among those on list. The next closest is the 2010 group with just a negative differential of 17 yards.
It is for this reason that it’s hard to project where Pittsburgh may end up come the end of the regular season. That is why NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha named the Steelers as one of five key wild cards who could shape the second half of the season.
“At 6-3, Pittsburgh is now one-half game behind Baltimore for the lead in the AFC North,” Chadiha writes. “The Steelers have reached this point with an offense that ranks among the worst in the league and a defense that gives up its fair share of yards, as well. The one thing this team does really well is make the most of the critical plays it does get. The Steelers were outgained for the ninth consecutive time this season during their 23-19 win over Green Bay.”
In the long list of masterful coaching jobs by head coach Mike Tomlin, the 2023 season has to be near the top. There are three teams with a negative point differential of 26 this season: the Tennessee Titans, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Steelers. The Titans and the Rams are 3-6 while the Steelers are 6-3. The key difference is that the Steelers are plus-10 in turnover differential while the other two teams are in the negative.
“They keep ascending because their coach knows what he’s doing and the players have embraced the art of winning ugly,” Chadiha writes.
It isn’t going to get any easier from here with injuries piling up on defense and a serious problem at inside linebacker, but the team has managed to overcome key injuries at other positions already this season. The Steelers have finally found the beginnings of an identity on offense, rushing for nearly 40 percent of their season total in the past two weeks with 371 yards. If the bully ball can continue on offense with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren leading the way, that will go a long way in maintaining the Steelers’ winning ways, no matter how unusual they may be.
