Steelers gratified to be 6-2
over each team. Only the New England Patriots — who else? — can match their record in the AFC.
“I know it’s not 8-0, but I’m happy where we are so far,” Cam Heyward said. “I know we can get better. That’s the encouraging thing about this team. We haven’t played our best football. We win and you think, ‘Wow! We can be that much better.’ ” The offense, certainly. But the defense? It’s hard to imagine it improving much. It ranks second in the NFL in points allowed per game, third in sacks and fourth in yards allowed. In the past three games — wins at Kansas City, at home against Cincinnati and at Detroit — it allowed 13, 14 and 15 points. That’s winning football. The defense did give up 411 passing yards to the Lions Sunday night but more than made up for it with three goal-line stands.
“They could have scored easily, but we made stop after stop,” Heyward said.
“It’s a want-to,” Joe Haden said. “If we keep playing like that, we’re going to be special.”
No one has been a bigger fan of the defense than Roethlisberger.
“They’ve been stepping up huge. We need them to keep playing like that because the offense is going to come around.”
The next game Nov. 12 at Indianapolis would be the perfect time to start.
There is no excuse for the offense to rank 20th in the NFL in points per game (20.9) — far below its goal of 30 — and 30th in red-zone efficiency. Only rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster has exceeded expectations. Only Brown and Bell have met ’em, although Bell started slowly after missing the preseason in a contract situation. Roethlisberger and the offensive line still haven’t fully clicked, although Roethlisberger will tell you he will take wins over gaudy statistics every time. Bryant has been the biggest disappointment, on the field and off. He has been so bad that Mike Tomlin benched him against the Lions after he asked for a trade two weeks in a row, the second time denigrating Smith-Schuster in the process. I still believe the team will need him to get to Super Bowl LII. Or maybe not. The Steelers have two significant edges over the Patriots. One is health. Two is the schedule.
The Steelers didn’t have Marcus Gilbert for five games and most of a sixth and Stephon Tuitt for four games and most of a fifth. It’s nice to think both will be back for the Indianapolis game. They are key players. But New England’s injuries have been much more punishing, season-ending injuries to wide receiver Julian Edelman and linebacker Dont’a Hightower among them.
The combined record of the Steelers’ remaining opponents is 26-34. They have five of their final eight games at home. They will get Indianapolis without Andrew Luck and Green Bay without Aaron Rodgers.
The Patriots’ remaining opponents are a combined 33-25. They play five of their next six games on the road, starting with the next two at Denver and against Oakland in Mexico City and ending at Heinz Field Dec. 17. That’s a brutal stretch, perhaps one that’s too rugged for even Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. It won’t help that the Patriots have the worst defense overall in the NFL and worst pass defense, although they have been better in their four-game winning streak.
The Steelers will have no one to blame but themselves if they don’t get home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs.
How the Bryant situation plays out will have a significant impact on the team’s second half. Tomlin was blunt after the game Sunday night when asked if he is confident Bryant will contribute to the team after the off week. “I’m not … we’ll see.” But Tomlin can’t be any more confident in the wide receivers he has after Brown and Smith-Schuster. Eli Rogers? Justin Hunter? Darrius Heyward-Bey? I will feel a lot more comfortable with Bryant back on the field if his mind is right. I get it, that’s a big if. The Steelers appear ready to deal with whatever happens with Bryant and whatever other drama comes their way.
“It’s something new every week. We’re like the Kardashians,” DeCastro said, grinning. “We don’t even blink an eye over it. We just move on. Everyone in the locker room is on the same page. We’re just trying to win ballgames.”
Doing a pretty good job of it, too.
No, the Steelers aren’t 8-0 or even 7-1. But who among us isn’t pleased with 6-2?