So not only did they beat (and for all intents and purposes eliminate) the Bengals, but they did it with 5 touchdowns a fortyburger, which nobody thought they could do.
Of course, Joey Porter Jr. had an absolutely hideous game, and George Pickens drew two personal foul penalties because he’s a petulant child. That can’t continue to happen. But overall Pittsburgh played well and the defensive splash plays made the difference in the end. Now the damn Iggles have to beat the hated Ratbirds. They’re currently up 14-12 so there is hope.
Nice to have the offense carry us to a win. This one smelled like they were going to get blown out, as I had that uneasy feeling before the game. Season is starting feel different, in a good way. But yeah, Eagles winning would be a huge help.
I guess we can put the QB controversy to bed (until 30 seconds after Rus throws his next interception).
I like Fields in short yardage situations. He’s got enough QB cred so they can’t completely pack the box and he can motor pretty well and pick up a couple of yards after contact. A nice combo and Wilson won’t get dinged up.
The Iggs did their job, so the Rats are 2 games back in the loss column and Pittsburgh has the tiebreaker.
That said, how many wins do you guys think it will take to qualify for the playoffs? The Steelers have already defied expectations from the pundits this season, 9 ought to get them in no matter what, right?
Not really. That would mean we lose all our remaining games (which would be a disaster, regardless if there’s a playoff appearance) and Miami or Indy could both conceivably win the rest of their games.
The NFL went to an 17-game schedule in the 2021-22 season. Since then, each and every 10-win team has made the playoffs. By contrast, only 6 of 16 9-win teams have made the playoffs. (Assuming my quick count is correct, of course.)
Other than the four current division leaders (Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Houston, Kansas City), there are only three other AFC teams that even have a winning record (Baltimore, Los Angeles, Denver). If the season ended today, those would be your AFC playoff teams.
I agree with Railer13: ten definitely should get you in. Nine probably will, too, unless Miami or Indianapolis get hot in December.
I was gonna chime in to say I expect a high scoring game today (I feel like any game with Jameis Winston as starting QB has a high chance of that), but just learned about Pickens being out. Now hoping for a defensive battle with Winston making more mistakes than Russell. This is the Browns’ Super Bowl, since they are going for the season sweep, so we better be ready for a rough game.
Jameis and Russell are like polar opposites when it comes to avoiding turnovers, and I mean over the courses of their NFL careers. I think this is a safe thing to hope for.
So in the end it turned into a solid win. Yes, I know the Browns’ record sucks, but a good bit of that comes from Haslam forcing Stefanski to play Groper Cleveland for half the season. Watson is cooked. Winston may be a bit of a wild card, but he still gives Cleveland a chance to win. They did beat both Pittsburgh and Baltimore with Winston, after all.
I also think that at this point we should all be able to admit that Wilson starting was the right decision. Yesterday he didn’t put up spectacular numbers but he didn’t need to, and he made the throws that mattered.
So now Pittsburgh is 10-3 and it would take them losing out and everyone else below them winning out for them to miss the playoffs. Then again, they get the Eagles, Chiefs, Rats, and Bengals to close out the season so it’s possible they do lose out. Man, the NFL gave them a murderous back half of the schedule. But they did already beat the Rats and Bengals, so I find it unlikely. If Miami and Indianapolis lose next week they clinch a spot next week no matter what.
Totally. I think the next 2-3 games will tell us a lot about this team’s upside, and how optimistic we should be entering the playoffs. We currently lose the #2 seed based on SOV, and ours is the lowest of any team. Just beating Eagles next week would be huge.
I watched some of the Steelers game yesterday, and I thought they looked as good as they have all season. (Admittedly, I haven’t seen them play much this year, save for what I see in Red Zone.) And the Eagles barely escaped Carolina, surviving when a Panther receiver dropped a sure TD pass with less than a minute left. I’m somewhat surprised the Eagles opened as 5-point favorites.
Tough stretch of games coming up, but Philly, Baltimore and KC all have their flaws, and i think that on any given Sunday, the Steelers could come away with a win against any of those teams, but its also within the realm of possibility to go 0-3, and go into week 18 needing a win against that potent Cincy offense.