Are the Steelers the team that reeled off 12 wins in a row or the team that hasn’t won in nearly a month?
One way to get to the answer is to evaluate who’ve they’ve played. Let’s start with what I assess as ‘the terrible teams.’ The Steelers played the Bengals in Week 10, winning by 26 points, but lost to that same team last week by 10. Pittsburgh also played the Jaguars, winning by 24 points.
That gives the Steelers a 2-1 record against what I consider to be bottom-feeding teams.
But the Steelers beat teams in the next tier up. But trouble loomed. Pittsburgh opened the year by beating the Giants by 10. The next week, Pittsburgh beat Denver by five points in a game that came down to the final possession and, then, edged by another shaky team, the Texans, by seven. The pattern continued against the low-flying Eagles. Yes, Pittsburgh won, but it didn’t control the game. Then came the Cowboys–a team playing with a third-string quarterback. Again, the Steelers won, but unconvincingly.
That’s 5-0 against up-and-down teams that a great team should have handled convincingly.
If we continuing moving up the NFL food chain, there’s the Ravens–a team which, at the time, was struggling with COVID issues. The Steelers won by five against a team playing without MVP Lamar Jackson and stellar TE Mark Andrews. And while the Washington Football Team is getting better (on the defensive side, especially), it struggles on offense. Even so, WTF won that day, handing Pittsburgh its first loss of the year.
So it’s 1-1 against struggling teams.
Now, let’s look at the inarguably ‘good’ teams. In Week 6, the Steelers faced the Browns and won without hardly breaking a sweat. The following week the Steelers played the Titans, went up by 20, and then had to hold on for dear life as the Titans scored 17 unanswered points and nearly came back to win. Rothlisberger threw three interceptions in a game that (in all probability) that the Steelers should have lost.
To finish up the “good” football teams, the Steelers played Baltimore in Week 8 (before COVID decimated the Ravens). Lamar Jackson was playing, and Pittsburgh won by just four points. That’s good news. The bad news involved issues. The Steelers had four turnovers, fewer yards and first downs, and lost the TOP battle. The only ‘great team’ the Steelers have played is the Bills. Buffalo shut down Pittsburgh offensively, including intercepting Big Ben twice, and the Steelers lost by 11. 0-1 v. a great team.
3-1 against good/great teams.
What’s my conclusion? The Steelers aren’t a great team and could very well have a losing record. The difference between leading the division and having a losing record is defense. Pittsburgh is ranked #1 in defensive yards allowed. That means the problem is on offense, which is saying something when you consider that the Steelers had the second easiest schedule coming into this year (45.7% opponent win percentage), which got easier (40%) as the season unfolded.
Pittsburgh’s offense stats tell the tale–31st in rushing yards and 15th in total yards. And Roethlisberger’s numbers are concerning: 20th in QBR, 16th in passing yards, 34th in yards-per-attempt, 16th in throws over 20 yards, and 22nd in throws over 40 yards.
The Steelers started the season with a bang (12 straight wins). Going into this week’s play, they’ve lost three straight. Today, they play the up-and-down Colts (10-4) at home. Pittsburgh is -2.0, and ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the home team a 62% of winning. Keep an eye on the Steelers’ offense. In this game and the playoffs, that side of the ball will tell the final story of Pittsburgh Steelers football 2020.
