The Pittsburgh Steelers are 10-3 or better for the sixth time under HC Mike Tomlin. This is the first time they have reached that mark since 2020, however, and the first time after Ben Roethlisberger retired. And they have done it in unorthodox fashion with a bifurcated season. After Justin Fields went 4-2, Russell Wilson took over and is since 6-1. And he has the Steelers looking scary for the postseason—the scariest to the Chiefs, says former NFL RB Maurice Jones-Drew.
Commentating on who is the biggest threat to Kansas City in NFL GameDay, Jones-Drew said, “It has to be a team that’s willing to win ugly. That finds ways to win even though they shouldn’t win. I would say it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers and what Mike Tomlin’s been able to do”.
The Steelers certainly do things a little differently at times. They managed to win multiple games without scoring a touchdown, for example. Then they put up 44 points and over 500 yards. They have won by running the ball, and they have won by throwing the ball. They have won because of the defense, and they have won because of special teams. It’s the complementary football Tomlin always talks about, now playing out when it matters.
“When Pittsburgh scored 40 points against the Cincinnati Bengals, I said, ‘We’re in trouble’. Because when’s the last time Pittsburgh has scored 40 points? That was when they had the Killer Bs”, Jones-Drew said in explaining why the Steelers are the biggest threat to the Chiefs.
Indeed, the last time the Steelers scored 40 points was back in 2018. That was before Antonio Brown forced his way off the team, though that was the year Le’Veon Bell no-showed. That season also marked the last time they gained 500-plus yards on offense.
But the Steelers also have a top-10 defense in all the major categories and lead the NFL in takeaways. After landing another three yesterday, they have 28 on the season. And the Steelers have a better scoring offense and scoring defense than the Chiefs do this year.
Truth be told, the Steelers are just a little less lucky this year. The Steelers could easily be 12-1, and the Chiefs could easily be 10-3, had only a couple things gone differently. Even yesterday, the Chiefs won on a last-second field goal that ricocheted off the upright. Had it bounced the wrong way they would have lost. Conversely, if the Steelers recover the late forced fumble against the Cowboys in Week 5, they win that game. If the officials call the hold against Nick Herbig in the first Browns game, maybe they win that, too.
“You have that ability to score points with that defense, with those pass rushers, and you can win an ugly game. They’re okay with running the football 100 times if they have to. They’re okay with throwing the football. They just want to win”, Maurice Jones-Drew in stating the Steelers’ case against the Chiefs.
“To me, that is the team that is the scariest to go into Kansas City even though Patrick Mahomes [has] had a lot of success against the Pittsburgh Steelers. To me, the way this team is built right now, with the way they’ve been playing, they’re the scariest team”.
