Will Steelers make big playoff push?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying a week off after 10 hard-fought games, so take the opportunity to reacquaint with family members (oh, how some have so grown over the past 2陆 months!), take the dog for a walk (the weatherman is forecasting chilly temperatures, but all the better because cold air helps burn all those Football Sundays鈥� unwanted pounds), or rake the leaves into a big pile and dive in!
I鈥檓 not sure how many folks out there realize this, but the Steelers have quietly put together the fourth-best record in the AFC heading into the weekend.
The Black-and-Gold trail New England (9-0), Cincinnati (8-1), and Denver (7-2). Pittsburgh actually would be leading the South by 1陆 games over Indianapolis and Houston, as well as the NFC East (led by the Giants at 5-5).
Season kinda getting that Pirates鈥� mystique about it, but really doesn鈥檛 seem that way with all the couldas, wouldas, and shouldas thrown in.
The opener against the Patriots wasn鈥檛 the greatest effort, defensively for sure, but the defeat was just by a touchdown, 28-21.
The 23-20 loss to the currently-hapless Ravens is not worth opening old wounds 鈥� and missed field goals. You were there, so I won鈥檛. In the same manner, the 23-13 loss to then-lowly Kansas City became the start of a three-game winning streak for the Chiefs as they head to Denver.
Pittsburgh had Cincinnati beat, alas, a couple of ill-fated and poorly-thrown passes by a maybe-not-so-fit Ben Roethlisberger led to a late touchdown in a 16-10 loss.
Still, here we are, a mere week from Thanksgiving and the ensuing Black Friday mayhem and the Steelers are in the playoff mix despite all the injuries, mistakes and poor decisions.
And, before you go all high-and-mighty on me, the only way to win a Lombardi Trophy is to earn one of six berths into the AFC playoffs. Sure, doing so with style points is sweet, but the recent past has shown it doesn鈥檛 matter how a team enters the playoffs, but, instead, when they exit, and quite a number of wild-card teams have found success.
In the home losses to the Ravens and Bengals, all the Steelers needed to do was pick up a second first down, but failed to do so. (Well, as mentioned before, Josh Scobee hitting the ball between the tall yellow posts would鈥檝e helped against Baltimore.)
Playing without offensive superstars Roethlisberger, Le鈥橵eon Bell and Martavis Bryant for stretches hasn鈥檛 helped, and the absences of Ryan Shazier and Stephon Tuitt has been felt by a defense that isn鈥檛 as bad as the pundits thought it might be.
Tuitt, the team leader with 4陆 sacks, was out for the back-to-back losses to the Chiefs and Bengals. Shazier was in the midst of a monster 15-tackle game against the 49ers when he exited with a shoulder injury and missed the next five games (two losses).
Antonio Brown has single-handedly lifted my fantasy football team from the doldrums to, ironically, a 6-4 record and fight for a wild-card playoff berth, not to say what he鈥檚 down for the Steelers, too.
The homestretch after the break is at Seattle (4-5), home to Indianapolis (4-5), at Cincinnati (8-1), home to Denver (7-2), at Baltimore (2-7), and at Cleveland (2-8), with all the games on Sundays. The Colts game (now at 8:30) and the Cincinnati contest (1 p.m.) are prime candidates to be flexed, so keep an eye on your TV schedule. The Bengals and the Browns are the only games scheduled for 1 p.m.
Seattle and Indianapolis have under-performed, but are still in the playoff hunt so they are dangerous opponents. Maybe it鈥檚 my built-in bias, but I just think the Bengals aren鈥檛 all that. Peyton Manning is hurt, leading the Broncos to turn to Brock Osweiler (?). The Ravens are just a pain, and the Browns, well, they proved they鈥檙e still the Browns, although Johnny Football wasn鈥檛 as awful as I thought he鈥檇 be.
The Steelers could be poised for a realistic late-season 6-0 run, but, then again, could muddle through with a mediocre finish to frustrate and bedevil fans and management alike. But, ever the optimist, I鈥檓 leading to more wins than losses.