There was not much movement in this weeks power rankings written by NFL.com’s, Dan Hanzus. This comes as no surprise after seeing this Steelers defense dig their cleats in and shutting the Texan’s out in the second half.
Where did the Steelers start week 3?
Last week, Dan Hanzus had the Steelers ranked fourth in his power rankings for NFL.com. Seeing them jump a few spots and stay above the Seahawks and Bills was a surprise to me. The Steelers have not had to play against an offense as good as those two teams. Those two teams can shift momentum and change a game in the blink of an eye.
The ultimate reason the Steelers have a spot in the top 5 came from this revamped offense. Ben has not been consistent through all four quarters of any game yet but this offense is still churning up tons of ground yardage. The best part is that Ben Roethlisberger does not have to be perfect throughout the entire game this season. He just has to keep his mistakes down. Which are down by a lot in comparison to years past, and that’s exactly what this team needs from him. As long as the turnovers stay down the sky is the limit for this group.
Where did the Steelers land for week 4?
In this week’s power rankings article, Dan Hanzus has the Steelers still sitting firmly in his 4th spot. This does not come as a shock after the Steelers were being diced up in the first half by star quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson was on fire in the first half with two passing TDs, one to Will Fuller to take the lead ending the second half.
However, Keith Butler and his defense made some adjustments at halftime. The defense came out swinging with 3 sacks and multiple pressures. Forcing bad throws and a fourth-quarter interception by Mike Hilton was absolutely crucial in this victory. The Steelers also gave up virtually nothing on the ground allowing them to dominate time of possession.
Last year, time of possession was one of the Steelers biggest weaknesses. The offense could not string together a good rushing game because they did not have Ben Roethlisberger to keep the opposition out of the box. This season it is quite the opposite. According to NFL.com, the Steelers are averaging 139.6 yards per game on the ground this year. The balance this team is showing is what we have been waiting for since the Antonio Brown exit.
Is 4th the right spot for the Steelers?
This team does seem to be improving every week but I still have my questions about its ability to put up points consistently throughout a game. The only teams that could be put above them are Seattle and now Buffalo. Seattle has the best quarterback play in the NFL right now but their defense is holding them back big time. Buffalo looks explosive and Josh Allen is in lots of early MVP conversations. At some point along the way, the Steelers will have to score 30 on an opponent to keep up and that worries me against a worthy defensive opponent like Buffalo.
Fourth seems a tad high for a team that hasn’t beaten anyone with a winning record but the strength of this team is it’s balance right now. The offense and defense are playing well off each other and that makes for a scary team.