Ahead of Sunday’s Week 5 action, the Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting pretty. With a 3-1 record and sole possession of first place in the AFC North, it’s hard to complain with Pittsburgh’s start to the season.
However, some of those wins haven’t been the prettiest. Pittsburgh’s defense has been dominant, aside from a lapse in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts last week. However, things haven’t been as stellar on the offensive side of the ball. As a result, Pittsburgh’s lack of a top-end offense has led to some analysts doubting their status as one of the best teams in the league.
One of those doubters is Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard. On ‘First Things First‘ on Friday, Broussard was asked if it would ‘mean something’ for the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Steelers on Sunday night. His answer showed his lack of faith in the Steelers this season.
“They’re OK, they just lost to Indianapolis,” Broussard said. “Look, the Steelers, you always got a chance to beat. I know the defense is great. They don’t score. Their offense is pedestrian at best, so you always have a chance to be in that game against them. All they do offensively well is run.”
This is some decently harsh criticism from Broussard. He gives some credit to the defense, which is well-deserved since they’re arguably the best unit in the NFL this year. However, he doesn’t seem to be inspired by the rest of the team.
Broussard makes the argument that Pittsburgh doesn’t score and that their offense is pedestrian at best. Looking at Pittsburgh’s offense compared to their counterparts, he does have a bit of a point. Pittsburgh’s scored 75 points through four games, an average of less than 20 per game. That total is also just the 23rd-highest in the NFL. Aside from the Houston Texans, the Steelers are the only three-win team in the league with less than 91 total points scored.
Broussard also argues that the only thing Pittsburgh does well is run. This argument is up for debate a bit more than the previous one. The Steelers quarterback, Justin Fields, owns the league’s eighth-highest completion rate at 70.6 percent. However, his 830 passing yards are just the 18th most in the NFL. His three passing touchdowns rank tied for the 24th-most. Finally, Fields’ passer rating is a bit better, with his 98.0 rating leaving him 12th in the league.
So, it might be a little harder to prove Broussard right that Pittsburgh can’t throw the ball. Still, it’s not like the Steelers are slinging the ball around the field. And with that in mind, it becomes a bit harder to argue the claim that the Steelers are a team you ‘always have a chance to beat’.
Although Pittsburgh’s taken three of their four games, they’ve all been relatively close. The Steelers won one-possession games against the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos to begin the year. They beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-10, but that game was tied going into the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh also just lost to an Indianapolis Colts team that has many doubters themselves.
Ultimately, the Steelers have earned their first-place standing in the division. However, they might have to be a bit more definitive in their wins to turn some of these doubters into supporters.
