Over the past half-decade, the Pittsburgh Steelers have become very good at winning ugly football games. Their offense hasn’t been great in recent years, but through strong defensive play and some big plays in big moments, Pittsburgh has remained competitive. Yet, that hasn’t helped the Steelers in the playoffs.
However, things seem to be changing now. Behind Russell Wilson and Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh’s offense is starting to transform in front of our eyes. The unit did struggle a bit against the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. In the other four games with Wilson at the helm, though, they’ve looked much-improved. Most recently, the Steelers lit up the Cincinnati Bengals for 37 offensive points on Sunday.
For good reason, that’s got people more excited about the Steelers’ playoff hopes than in previous years. Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab feels the same way. On Monday’s episode of Inside Coverage, Schwab claimed he thinks the Steelers belong among the top dogs in the AFC.
“The Steelers are as rock solid as you can get,” Schwab said. “Just a good football team that I think is going to win this division, now that the Ravens have dropped another game, and be the type of team in the playoffs you just don’t want to play. The Bills don’t want to see this team in the playoffs. The Chiefs even don’t want to see this team in the playoffs. They are tough, they are good, and they can win games in many different ways.”
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills are the two most recent playoff losses on the Steelers’ resume. It’s no surprise those are the only two teams seeded higher than the Steelers in the AFC. However, Pittsburgh looks better equipped to handle those teams this year.
Last year on the road, in the snow, with Mason Rudolph at quarterback, the Steelers put up a tough fight against the Bills in the wild-card round. Buffalo escaped with a 31-17 win, but the game was close into the fourth quarter. The Steelers’ defense is still as dominant as it has been and is only getting healthier.
Now that the offense is humming, Pittsburgh looks much more ready for playoff football than in previous years. The Steelers still play some dominant teams on their schedule, like the Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Baltimore Ravens, so we’ll see how things shake out as the year comes to an end. For now, though, the Steelers have much more hope for the playoffs than in previous years.
