With an offense capable of scoring 30-plus, a defense that’s one of the best in football, and excellent all-around special teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers sure know how to play complementary football. So much so that beat writer Mark Kaboly thinks the 2024 edition of the team is more complete than the previous three Super Bowl-appearing squads. He made the case Monday morning.
“Those teams were flawed in some ways,” Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan. “I’m not saying this team’s not flawed, but that team, you had had bigger question marks. I mean, like I said, in ’05, the defense was solid. But you had to say, is the quarterback gonna be able to lead us if they take the run game away? Are they gonna be able to throw the ball? That ’08 and ’10 team, they couldn’t run. They were some of the worst running teams. Worst offensive lines you’ve ever saw.”
While arguably early to say, Kaboly’s point is understood. The 2005 team still featured a young Ben Roethlisberger and passing game that hadn’t crystalized. There was real doubt about the Steelers’ ability to succeed for much of the season. They went on a three-game losing skid in late November and December, falling to 7-5 and nearly out of the playoff race. It wasn’t until the home stretch that the offense got going, winning their last four games and scoring 35-plus points in their final two.
Underdogs for the playoffs, they won three-straight playoff games to become the first No. 6 seed to ever win the Super Bowl.
The 2008 defense was historic but poor on the ground. RB Willie Parker was already slowing down and averaged under 4-yards per carry. And the o-line was a hodge-podge of names. Darnell Stapleton and Chris Kemoeatu at guard, Justin Hartwig at center. Hardly an All-Star group. 2010 was a similar story with RB Rashard Mendenhall averaging under 4-yards an attempt while Jonathan Scott manned Ben Roethlisberger’s blindside.
The 2024 Steelers don’t seem to have a fatal flaw. Not currently, anyway. There’s definitely problems and areas to address, starting with a red zone offense that ranks 30th in football. Pittsburgh relies on too many field goals to win, K Chris Boswell on pace to shatter the NFL record for most makes in a season. The Steelers still don’t have a great No. 2 receiver option in the passing game. Mike Williams’ production will come and go but he was invisible yesterday, catching zero passes on 25 snaps while Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III ran empty routes.
Still, the Steelers’ goal this year was to be an average-scoring offense and top-five scoring defense. They’re checking both boxes. They don’t beat themselves, they take the football away, they win the second half. Despite his Sunday struggles, they found their quarterback in Russell Wilson, they have a running game, and they have the NFL’s best kicker. There’s no obvious way to attack or beat them. It makes the Steelers a dangerous bunch the rest of the way.
