If I told you in early August that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be 6-2 entering their BYE week would you have signed up for that? I think most of us would have regardless of how they got there. Now that the team is getting ready to enjoy their week off, what do the final nine games hold for the Black and Gold? Are we headed for a repeat of recent seasons or is this team different?
High Expectations?
There are those that believe that the Steelers are just getting started. Winning in Cincinnati out of the BYE isn’t unrealistic. Winning at Philadelphia – which the Steelers haven’t done since Lyndon Johnson was President – isn’t easy but doable considering their struggles.
The two games with Baltimore don’t look nearly as imposing now either with their top two quarterbacks out. Still though, games with the Ravens are never easy. The game against Carolina doesn’t seem so hard as they struggle to defend and have become stagnant offensively so is it possible the Steelers could get to 11 or 12 wins?
Tempering Expectations
Besides the games above, the Steelers have a trip to Jacksonville that will likely be their most difficult game based on current events. Both Denver and Houston come to the Steel City. Neither will be an easy game despite Houston’s struggles early on. This is still the same team that came in last year and whipped the Steelers in the Wild-Card Game.
The final two contests at Tennessee and at Baltimore feel like they should trend towards victories. That said, the Steelers will still have injuries to deal with as the final nine weeks unfold. If they can avoid the significant ones they’ll be in good shape.
Unfortunately, history suggests “we’ve been here before.” Solid or even hot starts by the Steelers have routinely ended with first round losses. The one overwhelming difference is that this is Mike McCarthy’s staff and not Mike Tomlin’s. Will that provide the push needed over the final nine weeks in your opinion? Or will it be more of the same when January rolls around?
