Mike Tomlin’s Steelers can no longer be called a “bad road team”
It’s long been said that Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin can’t get it done on the road. The theory was Big Ben didn’t play well on the road, was inconsistent and didn’t live up to the challenge. The same was said about Tomlin’s coaching job and the less than stellar record that was historically put up on the road vs. at home was hard to argue.
Yet, that’s all changed. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the Steelers are 11-1-1 on the road. They are a force to be reckoned with and quite frankly, since last season, they are better on the road than they are at home.
There is no ‘Road Ben’. Sure, he struggled a little bit against Jacksonville, yet he had 3 total touchdowns and a ‘W’ at the end of the game, so it’s hard to say he was bad.
The Steelers have road wins against division rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore, along with wins at Jacksonville and Tampa to go along with a season-opening tie at Cleveland. Winning a divisional road game, no matter who you play is hard to do, yet the Steelers took care of business this season, with division road play already complete.
The key to success in the NFL is the ability to win on the road. You have to be able to take the bulk of your games at home, and then shoot for a .500 record on the road.
With three road games left this season, the Steelers have already assured themselves a winning record and have launched themselves into the driver’s seat of the AFC North because of it.
They’ll continue their road dominance this week at Denver. The Broncos are 4-6 thus far and are playing for their season but are much better than their record indicates. They are 0-4 against the Chiefs (twice), Rams and Texans and have lost those four games by a combined total of 16 points. Four points per game against those teams isn’t bad at all. Denver just put up a victory in Los Angeles over the Chargers and are certainly a dangerous team for the Steelers to have to play.
Yet, with the Steelers riding a six-game winning streak and an undefeated road record here in 2018, I think they’ll continue both streaks this week, with a close victory, 23-17.
I don’t think the Steelers will truly face a possible road defeat until their final trip of the season when they play the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are rolling and when these two teams face off at the end of December, it could be a preview of the Super Bowl. To me, that will be a true barometer of where the Steelers fall in the pecking order.
Until then, expect the Steelers to continue to win their road games and prove why they are the top dogs of the AFC North. I offer no apologies when I say it, the Ravens and Bengals are a class below and the Browns are at least two classes below that.
The road to the Super Bowl, for Pittsburgh, starts in stadiums outside of the Burgh.
