The Pittsburgh Steelers head into their Monday night contest with Tennessee with a mixed bag of good and bad news.
AFC North leading Cleveland was stymied at home yesterday by Houston giving the Steelers an opportunity to climb back on top of the division. This was the good news.
The bad news came in boat loads at least for one week as the Cincinnati Bengals suddenly found their groove again in beating New Orleans at home in the Superdome. The Steelers still have two contests remaining with the Bengals and have one at home against the Saints who suddenly look like they are spiraling out of control.
Another team on the Steelers’ schedule is Atlanta who has won two straight and now “leads” the NFC South with a 4-6 record. I still expect the Steelers to defeat this team but it will be on the road where it appears anything goes for the Steelers.
Then there’s the playoff race in the AFC in general. Denver took a big step back with a loss in St. Louis which allows the suddenly very hot Kansas City Chiefs into the AFC West race. Oh and by the way, The Steelers host the Chiefs later this season as well.
Lastly is the destruction of the Indianapolis Colts by the New England Patriots last night. Team Belichick clearly looks like the best team in the AFC right now while the blueprint for beating the Colts as been revealed by both the Steelers and now the Patriots.
Outscore them and keep Andrew Luck off the field in the process.
If we’ve learned anything about the National Football League this season it’s that we can’t really judge a team based upon a single week of performances. Still, we can’t dismiss what the Steelers face in the next five weeks following tonight’s game.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on game day on the Trib-Live Radio Steelers Pre-Game
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The Saints, Chiefs, and Falcons are all games that really scare me.
The Saints and Falcons have potentially explosive offenses that I expect to put up points on our D. The both have defenses we can score on but you never know which Steelers offense will show up. I’m encouraged that we get the Saints at home after the bye, and the Falcons have serious OL and defensive issues… but both games will not be easy.
The Chiefs are for real. I hate to say it, but with their pass rush and with Jamaal Charles I don’t see the Steelers winning that one.
I’m guessing we end up splitting with the Bengals. They’re a lot like us as far as inconsistency from week to week… but I’m betting each team wins at home.
That leaves the Titans as the Steelers only SHOULD win game. It makes this game crucial. The schedule gets tough after the bye, but us getting healthy and re-focused so late in the season could really be a big (and needed) advantage down the stretch.
I honestly think best case scenario is 10-6. Nothing will matter if the Steelers can’t win tonight though.