I can admit after their first game of the season, I said to myself the Pittsburgh Steelers were done. It was going to be a long season for them. There’s no Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell. This would be the year of Juju Smith-Schuster being the number one receiver. This would also be the year that shows us what type of leader Ben Roethlisberger is. In the second game of the season, Ben exits the game against the Seahawks with an apparent arm injury. The next day, the news was released that he was out for the rest of the year with a UCL injury. Now, it was Mason Rudolph’s time to shine. Then, he goes down! He took a vicious hit from Earl Thomas. Since then, the Steelers have become one of the hottest teams in the NFL winners of four in a row. At one point, they were 1-4 with no hope. Here they are now at 5-4 in the hunt for a playoff spot in the AFC. What’s been behind the success as of late?
If you’ve watched the Pittsburgh Steelers over the last five years, they’ve been a high-octane offense. Ben went from a game manager to a quarterback that can sling it all over the field. I was curious to see what they were going to do with Mason Rudolph under center. They’ve gone back to the old school way of how they played football. For them to have success, James Conner had to get his touches and he has. They’ve played great team football. It hasn’t been just one guy really stepping up. They’ve done it all as a collective unit which makes it stand out more. Receivers have stepped up; the offensive line is blocking well and they’re running the football. I just need to see Mason take better care of the football because he’s thrown a few interceptions since returning.
What’s carried them has been their defense! For years, their defense has been the weaker side of the football compared to their offense. I’ve been very vocal, yet critical of their secondary for years. They made a trade with the Miami Dolphins to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick. I remember the night the trade happened. So many people were questioning the move. Since the move, he’s become the Steelers best defensive player. He’s recorded five interceptions. This is the best secondary player the Steelers have had since the days of Troy Polamalu; I took it back a few years. The entire unit has been active all around. Devin Bush is showing why he was drafted tenth overall when the Steelers traded up for him in the 2019 NFL Draft this April. T.J. Watt leads the team with 9.5 sacks. Whenever I think of Pittsburgh Steelers football, a strong defense always comes to mind. Look at the years when they were getting to and winning Super Bowls. They always had a strong defense that was stacked in each tier. I think they can go on a run and get to the playoffs.
