Steelers Not Out Of Danger Despite Big Win
Sacks, interceptions, touchdowns galore and one hilarious post-score celebration: it all amounted to a big party atmosphere in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, as the Steelers trounced the Colts 45-10 to keep pace with the AFC playoff picture.
But nothing is secured yet for the Steelers, who face arguably the toughest four-game stretch of any playoff hopeful remaining. At 7-5, Pittsburgh shares the same record as both Kansas City and New York, both of whom hold advantages in the three-way tiebreaker to keep a loose grip on the 5th and 6th seed respectively.
Winning out is not necessarily mandatory, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. The Steelers will be on the road for three of their last four outings, starting with a grudge match in Cincinnati next week against arguably the NFL’s most complete team.
From there, the team returns home to face the Denver Broncos and their surging defense in what could be a classic heavyweight bout between Big Ben and Denver’s vaunted pass rush.
The Steelers then travel to Baltimore to face pick-six machine Matt Schaub and the Ravens-in-name-only, before meeting Johnny Manziel in Cleveland for the season finale, provided he can avoid parting until then. Terrifying opponents they are not, but divisional road games against two rabid rivals with nothing to lose are anything but easy wins.
Also of some concern is the fact that the Steelers are a noticeably worse team away from home. The running game hasn’t been as punishing, Roethlisberger has been more prone to interceptions, and the defense has routinely fallen from “borderline average†to “insultingly awful.â€
It’s hard not to get overly excited about last night’s win. When the offense is firing and the defense is playing at its confident best, Ben, Brown and company look unstoppable.
But it was a home game the Steelers absolutely, positively, no-bones-about-it had to win. We are yet to learn exactly what the 2015 Steelers are made of. Within one month, we’ll have our answer.
