Have you ever gone into an exam having put in minimal study time, don’t know half the questions, and walk out feeling like you bombed it? Then, you come to class the next day dreading to see your score, only to find out you got a great score?
Well, that’s how the general media and the fan base is currently feeling about the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers sit at 5-3 on the season, having just defeated the Tennessee Titans last Thursday night. Before that, the perception was that Pittsburgh was toast after a disheartening loss at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars where we saw the defense play well for the first half of the game only to give up a long touchdown to RB Travis Etienne. The offense didn’t help matters as it looked lifeless for most of the contest, getting a touchdown out of WR George Pickens but missing numerous chances to get into the end zone.
Still, the Steelers managed to rally after the home loss and get back in the win column a few days later, keeping them very much alive in the AFC North race. The cast of Get Up on ESPN weighed in on Pittsburgh’s season to date, giving the Steelers an “A” grade despite the product on the field not always being pretty.
“They deserve an A because they stink and they’re 5-3,” Mike Greenberg said on Get Up, which aired live on ESPN. “They’ve been outgained in every game this season and they’ve won five of them. You want to talk about maximizing your ability. They’ve done everything they can with what they have. They might be the worst team in the NFL and they’re 5-3.”
“I’m on Greeny’s side,” Dominique Foxworth followed up. “They just [looked] all the way down the Scantron sheet and ‘Oh, we won five games!’”
Greenberg may be exaggerating a bit in calling the Steelers potentially the worst team in football, but they definitely have surpassed what the stat sheet would suggest is the record. The Steelers rank 29th in the league in points scored and 13th in points allowed while ranking 29th in total yards gained and second-to-last in total yards allowed. They have been outgained in yards every game this season and currently rank 25th against the pass and 29th against the run defensively. Despite all of that, Pittsburgh is two games above .500, a historic feat considering every offense it has faced has been more successful at moving the ball.
“They have won games they shouldn’t have,” Robert Griffin III said. “At the end of the day, if Matt Canada can figure out that offense, they’re going to be better. So at 5-3 right now, I would give them an ‘A’ as well.”
The Steelers have been winning, but it sure hasn’t been pretty. As Mike Tomlin would put it, “Style points don’t matter. We play to win the game.” That’s exactly what Pittsburgh has done beating a Ravens team that is red hot right now as well as reeling off victories against the Browns, Raiders, Rams, and Titans. This team must continue to work to improve and be able to score points more consistently while keeping a lid on splash plays defensively. Regardless, the Mike Tomlin effect of that never-say-die mentality lives on in Pittsburgh, keeping this team in the thick of it when the process hasn’t been pretty to say the least.
Tomlin has had his fair share of coaching blunders this season, especially in blowout losses to the 49ers and Texans. Still, Pittsburgh appears to be trending in the right direction after last Thursday night, and given the record that the Steelers have at this juncture, and “A” grade seems fitting based on the journey this team took to get here.
