Does the Steelers’ unbeaten record against winning teams matter?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 9-3 on the season, and, to date, they haven’t lost to a “good” team. As of last week, they were 5-0 against teams with winning records. With the Falcons losing, though, they are now 6-6, making the Steelers 4-0 in such games.
The Steelers have wins over the Chargers, Ravens, Broncos, and Commanders, with losses to the Colts, Cowboys, and Browns. The Colts are hovering near .500, currently 6-7, so they could retroactively hand the Steelers their first loss against winners.
But does the very fact of this shifting statistic neuter its significance? After all, it serves to highlight the variability of opponent quality based on game circumstances. The Denver Broncos of Week 2 were not the Denver Broncos of Week 13. Beating Bo Nix in his second start, or Kirk Cousins in his first start after an Achilles injury, means less. The Steelers also beat up on a beat-up Justin Herbert, who couldn’t even finish the game.
Now, the Steelers do have quality wins against quality opponents at the time in the Commanders and Ravens. And for that matter, the Bengals are a better team than their record indicates, or at least their offense is. But…
Looking at the NFL standings is kind of eye-opening. It turns out, the Steelers have the third-lowest strength of victory in the entire league. They hurt themselves by having beaten the 2-10 Raiders and Giants and 3-9 Jets. Meanwhile, teams like the Commanders and Ravens have lost since the Steelers beat them.
The thing is, the Steelers have three more games against “good” teams with winning records. Chances are they’re not going to win all of them. But is their 4-0 record in any way indicative of their ability to compete with the Eagles and Chiefs? At the end of the day, you can only play the next team on the schedule, and the Steelers have beaten the better teams in front of them. That’s all they can do.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Russell Wilson earning a lucrative new deal next year, and is Justin Fields still in consideration? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
