Heading into Sunday night’s tilt against the New York Jets, the national media was picking the Jets at a rate of 2-1 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. And early on, it looked like they would be correct. But then QB Russell Wilson, his legs under them, the defense went into lockdown mode, and the Steelers ran away in the second half for a 37-15 win.
Now, no one is ever perfect regarding predictions, whether that’s just picking a game or an entire season. But usually, people are gracious when they’re wrong. After all, football is just a game, right?
Not Colin Cowherd, though. On Tuesday’s episode of The Herd, Cowherd went over his Herd Hierarchy of the top 10 NFL teams. And the Steelers cracked the list. But I would venture that he did it begrudgingly.
“Number nine, I don’t know what I’m doing, Steelers,” said Cowherd. “I mean, it’s the Russell Wilson Steelers. They look good. I mean, they had outscored the Jets 24-nothing in the second half. I’m sorry, that’s impressive… I don’t know what to do. I’m not saying they’re a Super Bowl team, but I’m sorry. When they play at home, Russell Wilson doesn’t turn it over, can be pretty good in the red zone, have a home-run threat in Pickens, a Super Bowl-winning coach. Najee Harris, I’ve liked for years.”
That’s a whole lot of apologies for something Cowherd has complete control over. And I’m not sure exactly who he’s apologizing to. But the reality is that the Steelers passed a big test on Sunday night without some key players.
One of the biggest keys of the game was how the Steelers’ offensive line would fare against the Jets’ defense. Going into the matchup, the Jets were tied for the third-most sacks in the NFL with 20. And the offensive line was jumbled again. This time, it was C Ryan McCollum stepping in for the injured rookie Zach Frazier.
Wilson threw two touchdowns and ran for a third, while the Jets only sacked him once. Oh, and the aforementioned Najee Harris had 21 carries for 102 yards. He was quick to credit the offensive line, too. It was a darn good night for the Steelers’ offense in Russell Wilson’s first start for the team.
So, at 5-2, the Steelers should be considered among the top 10 teams in the league. They’re one of nine teams with at least five wins this season. Even Cowherd, who evidently loathes saying anything good about the Steelers, is forcing himself to admit that.
Cowherd had the Steelers narrowly beating out the Seattle Seahawks while the Kansas City Chiefs were his top team. The Baltimore Ravens came in second.
You can watch the entire Herd Mentality segment to see Cowherd struggling with talking well about the Steelers below:
