Following Washington win, are the Steelers Super Bowl contenders?
Before the season started the Steelers were not considered one of the candidates for Super Bowl glory. In fact, many pundits had Pittsburgh down as one of the worst teams in the conference, and the worst team in the AFC North. The Ravens, Bengals, and even the Browns were all considered more viable Super Bowl contenders.
But now, over halfway through the regular season, those so-called experts have changed their tune. The Steelers sit at the top of the division and football fans are wondering whether Mike Tomlin may have produced another championship-winning team. If you are betting on football right now, you have to be looking at the Steelers.
Russell Wilson gamble paying off
It is widely acknowledged that Denver’s trade for Russell Wilson was one of the worst in recent NFL memory. Nothing about the move worked and there were definitely some Steelers fans concerned when Pittsburgh took him in the offseason. However, it is fair to say that those thoughts have now disappeared.
Justin Fields began the season as the starting quarterback. Many people forget that a big part of that thinking wasn’t due to Wilson’s performance, but because Wilson was struggling with a calf injury. Coach Tomlin has always been prepared to make tough decisions. Making Wilson the starter could have turned out to be a huge mistake.
It wasn’t – and now the Steelers are looking better than they have done for a long time.
Beating good teams
We all love to see the Steelers winning games. The Raiders and the Jets were there to be beaten and those wins look good early in the first half of the season. However, it is much more satisfying witnessing Pittsburgh being able to beat better teams. Those are the real tests and give a better idea of how good this Steelers team is.
The Week 10 win over the Washington Commanders is an excellent example of this. Entering last Sunday with a 7-2 record, the Commanders have turned out to be the surprise team of the season so far and were playing with a lot of confidence. To come from behind and win on the road in the way the Steelers did a real statement from Mike Tomlin’s players.
The NFL is wide-open
Take a look at all the divisions in the NFL this season and you will see everyone is beating everyone else. The league is wide-open and that means that even a Steelers team that was in transition can dream of going far in the playoffs.
The Steelers main competition in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, may be unbeaten to this point but even Patrick Mahomes and company are showing that there are cracks in their armor. Their most recent win against Denver came down to a last-second blocked field goal that would’ve ended their perfect record.
Considering Pittsburgh was not given much of a chance in the division, let alone the conference, they will have as much of a chance as any other team of doing well.
Resilient Defense
We have already mentioned how well the Steelers offense is doing under the leadership of Russell Wilson, but, as the old saying goes it’s defense that wins championships.
The Steelers defense could be bordering on legendary, especially with an elite, generational player such as T.J. Watt. Watt and company are capable of wrecking games in an instant, as we saw against Washington and others throughout this season.
Despite giving up points to the Commanders, Pittsburgh held their top-three offensive unit to their lowest yardage totals of the 2024 season. The Steelers currently have the second-best scoring defense in the NFL, including the fourth-best run defense: something that will be paramount as they clash with rush-heavy teams such as the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Philadelphia Eagles in the coming weeks.
Tough Run-In
Although it is vitally important to get off to a good start in the NFL, it is who you are playing that matters. The Steelers have looked very good so far but the caliber of opponents was questioned throughout the first half of the season. The schedule makers, on paper, setup one of the strongest second half slates against Pittsburgh.
Yet, upon further examination, the first half of the schedule was riddled with tough opponents too. The 6-4 Atlanta Falcons lead the NFC South. The 5-5 Denver Broncos boast the league’s fourth-best scoring defense while being a top ten D against the pass and run. The 6-3 Los Angeles Chargers have bounced back in 2024 with the league’s best scoring defense and also rank in the top ten in passing and rushing yards.
Of course, the second half of the regular season will really show us just how good this Steelers team is. All of the divisional games come from Week 11 onwards and that means that the dogfight between the four teams will make the AFC North look completely different from week-to-week. Add a game in Philadelphia and a match-up with the Chiefs Christmas Day and suddenly people begin to get worried.
The difference is, the Steelers have not only secured their wins against “posers” such as the Raiders, Jets and Giants, but those games against the Falcons, Broncos, Chargers, and most recently, the Commanders, have proven they have the mettle to hang with the NFL’s best.
Super Bowl champs or contenders?
So, what is then? Can this Pittsburgh Steelers team win a seventh Super Bowl? The beginning of the season has shown those odds are much better than most people thought. But booking a hotel in New Orleans for the beginning of February might still be something of a rash decision right now.
What can be said is that the Steelers are bona fide Super Bowl contenders this season. That wasn’t thought to be the case a few months ago but the games and performances definitely backup that statement now.
A lot depends on the outcome of those six divisional games before the end of the regular season. There is an excellent chance of making at least a Wild Card berth now, but all signs this Sunday show a Steelers win over the Ravens could mean the team’s first home playoff game since 2020. If important players can remain healthy and continue to perform, this Steelers team might just be able to go all the way and surprise everyone.
