Why the NFL should be petrified of the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers just hit 4th on the NFL Power Rankings for their first top-five appearance this season. Here’s why NFL teams should be afraid.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers, at 2-0, are finally starting to garner some attention around the NFL as great. Opposing coaches and players have to be concerned at the thought of playing against the Black and Gold.

The Steelers are essentially returning their entirely star-studded defense from 2019. While they haven’t looked as strong against the pass as they did a year ago, it is because they have been focused on stopping the run. Per Lineups, the Steelers are ranked 1st in rushing yards allowed, and rushing touchdowns allowed. That garners a round of applause after facing both Saquon Barkley and Melvin Gordon in their first two matchups of the season.

Tyson Alualu is enjoying a career resurgence in the interior and is pairing nicely with Stephon Tuitt to make it almost impossible to have success running in between the tackles. Factoring in Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt, the tackles for loss are piling up along with the sack totals.

They haven’t been doing much to help their secondary in terms of scheming yet this season, and that is because they haven’t needed to. They have been scheming to force offenses with limited success passing to have to throw the ball against them.

With Minkah Fitzpatrick roaming, when pass-heavy offenses start rolling in, expect the interception numbers to start going up. They will allow some points, but the turnover differential is the battle I expect Pittsburgh to win this season in almost every game. That is usually a good indicator of the team that is going to win.

Why the Steelers could be so lethal

With all of the talent on offense surrounding Ben, this is quickly turning into quite a complimentary team. While the offense wasn’t scoring or driving down the field all game against Denver in Week 2, it is important to know that the Steelers matched points when Denver got going. Ben has been a revelation for this offense, getting the points when they matter most.

Furthermore, per ESPN, the Broncos managed 23 first downs to the Steelers 19. However, The difference in time of possession was a mere 1 minute and 2 seconds. This happened because, even while running against a very talented front 7, the Steelers were able to keep the ball, via short and intermediate throws to players like Eric Ebron and Diontae Johnson. Ebron is still meshing with this offense, but he is adding another significant presence to the middle of the field.

Chase Claypool and James Washington are both deep threats, while Johnson is becoming as dangerous as any wide receiver in the league with the ball in his hands. JuJu Smith-Schuster is quite the leader for this group, being a red-zone presence, Ben’s number one, and keeping it light for such a young and talented group. James Conner is healthy and he showed it in Week 2, while Benny Snell is ready whenever there is a problem with Conner’s health.

The offense and defense are able to complement each other so well that they can win any type of game they are presented.

If Pittsburgh is going to have to grind it out and play a low scoring defensive game, they can rely on the offense to at least give the defense time to rest and adjust. If they get into a shootout with a team like Kansas City, the defense can get the turnovers needed to give this explosive offense a chance to score a lot of points. The Pittsburgh Steelers are able to rely on either side of the ball to give the edge needed to win week in and week out.