Steelers: There's an elephant in the room we can't keep ignoring
It's time to make an unexpected confession about the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's the elephant in the room we can't keep ignoring yet few have the courage to point it out out of fear of "jinxing" it or ruining the magic. These Steelers… They're actually a pretty good football team. Let me clarify. I'm not talking […]
It's time to make an unexpected confession about the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's the elephant in the room we can't keep ignoring yet few have the courage to point it out out of fear of "jinxing" it or ruining the magic.
These Steelers… They're actually a pretty good football team.
Let me clarify. I'm not talking about the Steelers being an "uncomfortable rival" or a "well-coached team." You know, those terms that we throw out there when we're not sure if a team can be consistently good but has one or two strengths that make it complicated to pick their games.
I'm talking about Pittsburgh being legitimately good. Not only have they gone 3-1 since the bye week but they've been lowkey dominant while doing so. Heck, even the one loss came against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 37-30 showdown that came down to the wire.
A quick look at EPA/play reveals just how good they've been. Per Ben Baldwin's analytics website rbsdm.com, the Steelers are in the top tier of the NFL in that span.
As you can see in the graph below, the closer you are to the upper-right corner, the better. The Steelers are one of seven teams with an offense and defense better than average since Week 10.
The Steelers rank 8th in the league in offensive EPA/play in that span. They complement it very well with the 9th defense in the league, too.
Now granted, picking Week 10 as a starting point to look at these numbers could come off as cherry-picking stats AND it's a small sample size. However, the bye week is important for any team with a rookie leading the charge and it also marks the return of T.J. Watt.
Over the last few weeks, Kenny Pickett has looked more comfortable manning the quarterback position and he himself has talked about developing chemistry with his pass catchers. Meanwhile, it's no surprise that Watt's mere presence on the field flips the script for a defense that otherwise didn't look all that intimidating.
Does that mean the Steelers can find themselves in the playoffs? Not exactly.
Never say never but Football Outsiders has Pittsburgh's playoff odds at 6.1%. For them to be a serious "in the hunt" team, the Steelers might have to win out. Even with the best of teams, that's a tough feat to pull off.
But at minimum, Steelers fans know they're in for some good football when firing up the TV. And let's be honest, it's easier to be excited about the future of this franchise if they're winning games now.
Featured image via Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
