The Pittsburgh Steelers are a historic franchise. They have won six Super Bowl titles and have produced 20 Hall of Famers. However, unlike other great historic teams such as the Giants and the 49ers, the Steelers are doing well currently. After starting 1-2-1, Pittsburgh began a six-game win streak that has turned their season around and given them the 2nd best record in the AFC. Their season changed dramatically, beginning with a 41-17 win over Atlanta. We look at what happened in their recent tear that has risen them to a serious AFC contender.
Source: The Runner Sports
It all began in a 41-17 drubbing over the Falcons. Pittsburgh was, at that point, a struggling team in desperate need of Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers needed a win over 1-3 Atlanta. Things didn’t start off wonderful. The Steelers merely led 13-10 at the half, and closed it out in an unfavorable way after Roethlisberger was intercepted in the end zone. But the Steelers started to roll, outscoring the Falcons 28-7 in the second half. James Conner also began a streak. For the first of three games, the second year back out of Pittsburgh ran for 100 yards and 2 TDs. Conner would prove to be an important factor in later games.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Pittsburgh’s streak would face it’s first true challenge on the road against the 4-1 Bengals. Tied 14-14 at the half, the Steelers once more closed out the half on a bad note. They played a sloppy end of half drive defensively after allowing a big return on the kickoff. Late in the 4th quarter, Cincinnati scored once more to take a 21-20 lead. That set the Steelers up with 1:18 remaining with all three timeouts. However, they were in a dangerous situation, at their own 46 yard line with 29 seconds after picking up a lucky 3rd down conversion on a defensive holding. Two plays and 54 yards later, Antonio Brown walked into the end zone after catching a short toss from Roethlisberger and turning upfield to run, sealing a 28-21 win. It was an encouraging win to bring the Steelers into their bye week. Their first game back was a solid win over Cleveland, in which they overcame a slow start to win 33-18.
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Source: Behind the Steel Curtain
The Steelers continued to roll in Weeks 9 & 10. They played a fundamentally sound game in Baltimore that included going 10-16 on third down. Week 10 saw Pittsburgh explode on Thursday night against Carolina. Roethlisberger posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 52-21 thrashing of the Panthers.The Steelers scored twice in 13 seconds when JuJu Smith-Schuster hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass and Vince Williams recorded a pick six after T.J. Watt forced Cam Newton into making a bad throw out of the end zone. The Steelers were now beginning to gain the national spotlight after winning five in a row. The statistic difference was huge. In Pittsburgh’s first four games, Roethlisberger had thrown for 8 TDs. In their four most recent games, he threw for eleven. Conner continued to improve as well. As of the Baltimore game, he had averaged 118.5 yards per game in his past four outings. In his first four games, he averaged only 57.5 yards per game. In their winning streak so far, they were averaging 35.4 points per game, while allowing an average of 18.6 points per game. This team had fully overcome the absence of Le’Veon Bell and were cruising through the middle of their season.
Source: The New York Times
Pittsburgh was cruising, and would next have to take their talents to Jacksonville for a meeting with the Jaguars. Pittsburgh would need to overcome the team that had ended their season last winter, and get the revenge that they have been seeking for almost a year. However, the Steelers did not look like the team that had put up 52 points last week. At halftime, they trailed 9-0. And the struggles continued out of the break. Late in the third quarter, Leonard Fournette gave the Jaguars their first touchdown of the game, and a 16-0 lead. The Steelers needed something, and fast. And in under a minute, the score was 16-6 after a 78-yard TD pass to Brown. In the 4th quarter, Pittsburgh showed their steely resolve, even after a failed 4th down conversion with 6:53 remaining appeared to seal the upset. But they got the ball back quickly, and scored on an 11-yard touchdown catch by Vance McDonald. Once more, Pittsburgh generated a three-and-out, and took possession with 1:42 left. The Steelers generated a stellar drive even though James Conner dropped a walk-in touchdown. With eight seconds to go, Roethlisberger brought back memories of his younger self, with a gutsy run to pound it in from the one yard line. The Steelers improved to 7-2-1 with the 20-16 win, and showed that they can come back to win in a tough game.
Source: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are doing great, but what’s next? They still have to play against the 7-3 Chargers, and endure consecutive games late in the season against the Patriots and the Saints. But whatever comes at them, they’ll be ready.
