Every single season in the National Football League we see teams that ‘regress to the median.’ This is something that Bill Cowher used to talk about a lot when he was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In plain English, it simply means that year-to-year games come down to just a few plays and some years you’re on the positive end and sometimes you’re on the negative end. At 4-2, the Steelers under Mike Tomlin have definitely found themselves on the good side of the median but how much longer will it stay this way?
If you look over at the Minnesota Vikings you’ll get an even better look at what I’m talking about. Last season they won 11 one score games then promptly got bounced in their first playoff game (in a one a score game) while playing at home. This year, they’re currently 2-4 (they play tonight vs San Francisco) and every single one of their six games has been a one score contest. In other words, you win some and you lose some right?
Your 2023 Steelers have two losses and both were blowouts to the 49ers and the Texans. Their four victories have come by margins of four, five, seven and seven. By my own horrible standards of mathematics I believe that each of those is a one score game.
If you look at their victories on an individual basis, you’ll see just how fine of a line they are walking. Against the Cleveland Browns, they were outgained in both passing and rushing yardage yet two defensive scores saved the day. In Las Vegas, the Steelers took advantage of three Raiders’ interceptions yet still had to hold on late. In the win over Baltimore, the Steelers scored 14 fourth quarter points, blocked a punt and were aided by no less than seven Ravens’ drops in the 17-10 win.
Yesterday of course the Steelers had a grand total of 150 yards of offense heading into the fourth quarter before rallying. They once again got a big interception to start the second half but also got two missed field goals and a missed PAT. I should probably also mention that ridiculously favorable spot on fourth down too but why bother????
The point of all this is to say that the Steelers are 4-2 and nothing will change that. It doesn’t matter how you win or where you win it just matters that you win. Ultimately however, the current way in which the team is winning makes me wonder how long they can keep it up because at some point it’s got to catch up with them.
