Still Curtain
FanSided

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense isn’t going to win a Super Bowl

By Noah Strackbein

Jan 15, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) runs onto the field prior to the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) runs onto the field prior to the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Even with arguably the best offense in football, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t winning a Super Bowl by outscoring their opponents.

I know, that doesn’t make sense. Isn’t outscoring your opponent the objective? Yes, but when you need to score 40-plus points a game to win chance are you aren’t going to win every game. Against the New England Patriots, you aren’t going to win at all.

Having an offense with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and all the other studs is a significant boost when facing one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Pittsburgh should be able to score 25-30 points every time they square off with New England, but that isn’t enough to beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

What the Steelers need to win through is their defense. Hard-nosed, Ryan Shazier, T.J. Watt, and company getting to the quarterback defense. Without it, an AFC Championship run is all the Steelers are looking at yet again.

What Pittsburgh needs to solve isn’t the offensive issues because last season, there really wasn’t even any to solve. What they need to fix is the defense. Without it, all they’re looking at is another 431 allowed yards and a 36-17 AFC Championship blowout to the Patriots.

Now, a lot of the defensive issues were because of youth. When you have two rookie starters in the secondary, chances are you aren’t going to be perfect on every play.

Must Read: The Steelers may not have enough cap space left in 2017

This season, though, those issues should be resolved. Artie Burns and Sean Davis are looking to be two of the brightest young players in the league, and with the additions of T.J. Watt and Cameron Sutton, this defense has taken a huge leap in talent since last season.

Much like the old days of Steelers football, defense is how you win championships. Without plays like James Harrison’s 100-yard interception, or Troy Polamalu making plays no one thought possible, the Steel City wouldn’t have seen it’s last two rings.

To stop Tom Brady and the Patriots, the only real threat to Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl run, you need to shut down their offense. You can’t rely on outscoring the greatest quarterback of all-time, you need to hit him and force turnovers. Without making Brady uncomfortable, or at least the players around him, Pittsburgh won’t be able to do enough on the offensive end to win.

2017 is the year the Steelers are looking to reclaim the title. But unless their defense steps up, the Patriots are looking to walk their way into yet another Super Bowl.

Next: 5 breakout candidates for the Steelers in 2017

Pittsburgh’s offense is better than we’ve ever seen it, but it’ll come down to the defense to prove 2017 is the year the Steelers are the best team in the NFL.

Home/Steelers News