The Pittsburgh Steelers delivered up an impressive bounce-back win by a score of 16-10 against the Cincinnati Bengals that was low on points but high on renewing hopes for a successful season.
The victory margin was slim, but the way the win was served up was just how fat and sassy Steelers fans love their cooking. In fact, even the skinny and content were thrilled by a Steelers-like combination of lockdown defense and a bone-rattling running game.
That’s right Steelers Nation, the team is once again looking like they belong to us after all. Maybe we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The good news keeps rolling in for the reviving playoff hopes for the team as they have a mostly Candy Land schedule up ahead paved with marshmallows and saltwater taffy opponents.
This Sunday it’s the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals being warmly welcomed through the Steely Gates. This is promptly followed by a Thursday matchup against a 2-9 New England Patriots team that is playing so poorly the Gillette Stadium crowd is throwing lobster rolls at a frumpily dressed man who not too long was considered the greatest football coach of all time.
After this, the opponents are only slightly more formidable with a game against the Indianapolis Colts that will probably still be without injured All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor and a rematch against the still Joe Burrow-less Bengals.
The only real frightening blip on the radar is the end of the regular season match against the Baltimore Ravens, which is slowly lining up to be one of the premium regular season games of the year.
Or not. If either team has things clinched by then, their best players will be watching from the sidelines in hoodies.
With everything promising to be a rose garden for the rest of the year, what could possibly go wrong? Well, let’s give it a Spin.
Return Of The Jedi
The resurgence of the Steelers’ defense should be credited to the entire unit and coaching staff as a whole, yet there is one player who always seems to make a major difference in the quietest of ways.
Cam Heyward’s contribution to the Steelers’ defense, both in leadership and his ability to collapse opposing offensive lines can not be understated.
With all the well-deserved attention T.J. Watt gets for his prowess for rushing the passer, it often overshadows the freakish ability of the 300-pound Heyward to track down quarterbacks.
We’re talking about a run-stuffing monster of a defensive tackle who has bagged nearly 80 quarterback sacks of his own during his remarkable career.
This is not to mention the impact it has on the kids on the defense to see this 34-year-old nearly NFL senior citizen outhustling them on the field.
The Cam Effect since his return from injury has been significant, to say the least.
Now we have the “Return Of The Jedi” this Sunday with Minkah Fitzpatrick returning to the field of play following his long absence with a hamstring injury.
It’s hard to refrain from getting a little giddy with the possibilities of how good this defense can actually rise to be this year.
Fitzpatrick must be included in the discussion of “Who is the best defensive player on this team?” not only because of his talents and cunningness but also how well he lifts the boats of all other players on his squad.
That’s Not All!
Just like those late-night infomercials we have to say, “But wait! That’s not all!”
If you call right now, we’ll add a Joey “Scissorhands” Porter Jr. to your order.
Now…how is your Pittsburgh Steelers defense starting to shape up now? Who says this team is lacking talent?
Peezy Jr. has mastered the art of living on the edge. He’s like that kid in the classroom who knows how to ride the teacher right to the point of exploding, yet somehow knows how to toe the line so strategically he never gets detention or worse…a call home to Dad. We know how angry Dad gets.
Pretty much every play he’s involved in is just a fingernail short of a jersey tug from being pass interference.
When it comes down to solving the mystery of why the Steelers’ pass defense is on the rise, Porter Jr.’s fingerprints are literally all over it.
In some ways, Porter Jr. is proving the front office wrong. For so many years, the team has opted not to invest high draft picks on shutdown corners, and the rookie is emphatically demonstrating how wrong they’ve been all these years.
If you steal away a quarterback’s blankie, it really rattles their crib.
Déjà Vu All Over Again
The rookie year of Najee Harris lit up the National Football League with high hopes and lofty expectations. He was showing enough flash that Steelers Nation was convinced that there might actually be room in the Hall of Fame for two Harris’s from Pittsburgh.
In fact, some folks were already lobbying for a second statue to be built at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Admit it. How many of you picked Najee first overall in your fantasy football leagues the following year?
And then…Najee stopped being Najee. It was as if his career ran into a brick wall. In truth, that’s what happened, because the blocking schemes were so unimaginative and poorly executed that he literally was being expected to create his own holes in the line.
Flash forward to last Sunday. Was that not Najee Harris’s best game as a Steeler? Or at least, his most exemplary performance in a very long time.
Sadly, the team can’t fire Matt Canada every week, so who knows if his motivation levels will remain that high.
Yet, if that was the real Najee Harris, and he can replicate that hardnosed impact through the remainder of the year, the Steelers will hold claim to the best one-two running back punch in the league.
Because his running mate Jaylen Warren is beginning to be discussed as one of the league’s best.
Wait? That Play Is Legal?
The Steelers’ most shocking play of the season occurred on their first snap of the game against the Bengals.
Kenny Pickett took the snap, stepped back, and then…
Huh? Rewind that tape, would you?
Yes…it’s true. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it a second time with my own eyes. Pickett steps back and then throws the ball over the middle to his tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Just like that a gain of 24 yards…across the middle of the field!
That was the most dramatic end to the Matt Canada era as there possibly could have been. Yes. It is actually legal to throw passes across the middle of the field. In fact, it’s highly recommended to do so.
The visiting Steelers faithful were so shocked and relieved. Countless fans could be seen turning to their families and saying, “Okay, kids, let’s pack up…we got our money’s worth today. Nothing could improve on that.”
This Steelers passing offense does not require rocket science to fix.
Just call plays that result in the crowd saying, “Muuuuuuthhhh” and everything else will fall into place.
Winning Attitude
Kenny Pickett has been under fire from fans and many NFL observers. Already, there has been some consensus that the ceiling isn’t going to be too high for the Steelers quarterback.
To Coach Mike Tomlin’s credit, he’s stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the young leader of his offense. Even after the tough loss to the Cleveland Browns, he remained right there in the line of fire with him.
“Guys like Kenny and I are measured in wins and losses and he and I talk about that openly. We know what our jobs are. Our jobs are to win. And so, that’s where we are. That’s where our focus is. You know that I love the fact that he embraces that.”
Then after the win against the Bengals, Tomlin doubled down on this commitment to Pickett and even spiked the ball in the end zone a little.
“You know, we did what we needed to do to win. Guys like myself and Kenny, man, we’re judged based on winning and losing. And we don’t run from that. We run to that, so he and I are winners today.”
I actually loved…and at the same time did not love…what Tomlin had to say.
Those who read the Spin know, Pickett has a long runway with me. He’s only a sophomore quarterback in an offense that was engineered by a man who just got fired.
He hasn’t been perfect by any means, nor has the pass protection or route running been for him throughout the year.
I applaud Tomlin for not flinching in his support of Pickett, and it’s another affirmation of what makes up one of the head coach’s best qualities. It’s why his players love him.
However, there is also something that generates a discernible twitch from me as I hear him speak.
When he says that he is “measured in wins and losses” I believe he is missing the whole point of being a head coach in Pittsburgh.
I think when he fully embraces the much higher bar that both he and his team are “measured in championships” he’ll be able to have a better understanding and rapport with his own legendary fan base.
Cardinal Wins
Having to play against such a unique talent as Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is like having to solve a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
He can literally single-handedly bend the matrix of NFL space and time depending on his performance. This is not a “gimme” assignment for the Steelers defense at all.
You throw into this the added motivation of running back James Conner returning to Pittsburgh to play against the team that didn’t properly give him the respect he deserved and all of a sudden, this game is more frightening than it should be.
The harsh reality is that although the Steelers’ offense demonstrated last week they can gain yards, they still have yet to prove they can score points.
Yet, with all that promotional hype helium being added to the balloon, let’s be clear. This isn’t a good team the Steelers are facing this Sunday.
It’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to really get defensive. And in a good way. The Steelers way.
