Just how good are the Pittsburgh Steelers? They’re 4-1 and lead the AFC North. They’ve won three straight with the defense bringing down opposing quarterbacks 17 times in that stretch. They’re in a good position to win their division, especially if they beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football.
But are the Steelers one of the best teams in the NFL? Stephen A Smith thinks they’re the fourth-best team in the league. But not everyone believes that. ESPN’s Mina Kimes took exception to the Steelers’ inclusion on Thursday on First Take.
“The Steelers and the Patriots respectfully have no place on this list,” Kimes said. “I would put the Lions and the Seahawks on the list… Let’s focus on your Steelers for a second. Stephen A, what do you think of the Jets’ offense? You watched them this weekend, right? What do you think of them?”
Smith’s response was one word. Simply “Horrid.”
“They dogwalked the Steelers in Week 1!” Kimes said. “So we’re going to put the Steelers on the list because they looked okay against Carson Wentz and Dillon Gabriel. We’re not gonna do that. That defense is still a problem.”
It’s hard to believe that the Steelers’ defense, which held the Cleveland Browns to only nine points and brought Gabriel down six times, gave up 32 points to the New York Jets and QB Justin Fields in Week 1. That’s the same Justin Fields who had -10 net passing yards last Sunday. There is no question that the defense was disappointed by its performance in Week 1.
However, to think that the current Steelers’ defense and the one that went up against Fields and the Jets in Week 1 are the same is crazy. The Steelers gave up 182 rushing yards to the Jets in that game. Opposing offenses haven’t come close to that since then. They’ve kept their last two opponents (the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns) to under 100 yards rushing. And the Jets ran for even more yards in their Week 4 matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Plus, OLB Nick Herbig was out with an injury in that Week 1 matchup. And since he’s returned, he’s been part of the Steelers’ elite pass rush. Herbig leads the team with 4.5 sacks, all of which have come in the last three games. During that stretch, the Steelers’ defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 17 times. Heck, it’s Kimes’ key to the game from her preview show.
“I’m going to focus on the Steelers’ pass rush in this one,” Kimes said. “Because I just think they have the capacity to completely take over this football game. Bengals’ offensive line is really, really bad. And the Steelers’ pass rush has been quite good… It’s a real problem for Cincinnati.”
Evidently, Kimes feels very good about the Steelers’ pass rush. So why is she so against them when Stephen A Smith ranks them fourth in the league? She argues that he’s falling prey to “recency bias”.
Yes, the Steelers’ defense isn’t perfect. They’ve given up way too many passing yards (1,225, which is 27th in the league). But to say that the Steelers aren’t good because of how the defense was in Week 1 is a bit disingenuous. The defense has been much better against the run, especially in the last three games. And Blitzburgh is back in full effect, too.
And if that’s recency bias, so what? You can even argue that if Smith is falling prey to recency bias, so is she with her praise of the Steelers’ pass rush. But it’s not biased. The pass rush is one of the very best in the league. And it’s driving the Steelers forward.
