Where there’s a will, there’s a way for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win football games. They didn’t score a touchdown in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, but they still captured victory, 18-10. The Steelers find ways to win. Baltimore Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey knows that very well.
On his Punch Line Podcast, Humphrey discussed how the Steelers manage to win games despite poor offensive performances.
“If you let them stick around, they’re gonna beat you,” Humphrey said Wednesday. “I feel like that’s how it is when we play in our division. It’s like the Browns now. You let them stick around, they beat you. But the Steelers are like the top, if you let them stick around, they just beat you at the end. It’s crazy to think about it.”
There’s data to back up what Humphrey is saying here. The Steelers have played in the most one-score games in the NFL since Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. They have a good record in those games as well. Even last year, nine of their 10 wins came in one-score games, while they only lost two matchups by one possession.
It isn’t a fun way to win, but the Steelers do it consistently. Humphrey has experienced that first-hand multiple times too. He’s 4-8 in his career against the Steelers. All of those losses were by only one score. The Ravens and Steelers do have a tendency to play in close games, so it’s no surprise that Humphrey feels that way about his team’s biggest rival.
When trying to find a reason for the Steelers’ success in close games, Humphrey attributed the ability to their head coach.
“They do find a will and a way. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mike Tomlin; I feel like that might just be his thing,” he said.
Considering how prevalent these high-pressure games have been under Tomlin, that’s probably a fair assumption. The style of football that Tomlin likes to play is running the ball and playing stellar defense. That tends to have the makings of a low-scoring affair, meaning every single point counts.
The Steelers have already added one game to that statistic this year, and it probably won’t be the last one either. Fans are going to be kept nervous until the clock hits zero. However, maybe they can start scoring touchdowns at the very least. That might provide some security and allow fans to catch their breath. Winning every game with field goals would be nerve-racking.
