The Steelers narrowly got by a very good Titans team 27-24 this past Sunday. The defense stood their ground against Derrick Henry but second-half mistakes on offense let the opposition back in the game.
ESPN had them ranked 3rd in their power rankings after routing the Browns in a 38-7 victory at Heinz Field. The Steelers statistically took on the number one rushing offense last week and totally shut them down. Nick Chubb being inactive right now certainly helped but Kareem Hunt showed plenty of ability to fill the role during his performances as the backup. Cam Heyward and company were all over Baker Mayfield when he dropped back to pass. Drawing up four sacks and a whopping nine QB hits were the difference-maker in stopping the Browns deadly play-action passing.
The Steelers secondary also had a big bounce-back game. There were seven passes knocked down and two interceptions after being heavily criticized for their Eagles game. Nobody is under more scrutiny than Minkah Fitzpatrick. Who finally, bounced back and reminded the fans why Kevin Colbert gave up a first-round pick for him with his pick-six.
Steelers reach the top of the league
This week in ESPN’s power rankings Pittsburgh sits at the top spot. This happens coming off a win over the undefeated Tennessee Titans 27-24. The Titans came out and tried to get Derrick Henry’s wheels churning early on but were met by the best front line in the NFL. The defense stifled all attempts early on by the Titans to move the football.
The Steelers jumped out to a first-half 24-0 lead in this game by a collective effort on both sides of the ball. The offense basically kept the ball the entire first quarter which was huge in stopping the Titans from playing with the lead. Which is obviously how you want to play with Derrick Henry in your backfield.
Pittsburgh’s secondary struggled in the second half of this contest after having a big week versus Cleveland. None struggled more than Minkah Fitzpatrick, Brooke Pryor mentions in her write up for the power rankings. Minkah had a missed chance at AJ Brown on a play that led to a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown and a huge penalty at the goal line to give Tennessee a fresh set of downs.
Ben Roethlisberger stepped out of his game-manager style we have been seeing and took some risks this Sunday. Most notably the interception on an unnecessary throw into the endzone to conclude the first half. The pick abruptly ended the Steelers chance to add three more points to the early 24-0 lead. If you told me Pittsburgh threw three picks I would not have thought they won this game. The Steelers were lucky to walk away from this game with a win.
Is this the right spot for the Steelers?
This team is the sole undefeated team left in the NFL. Naturally, that demands some respect. They are definitely getting that respect with this ranking after taking a step ahead of the Chiefs. At this moment, it is hard to say Pittsburgh is better than the Chiefs. The Steelers defense is the better of the two but this league is predicated around offense in 2020. The Steelers haven’t played a 4 quarter consistent game yet versus a defense that can adjust. The Titans made the right adjustments in the second half and shut the Steelers down. A team like Kansas City will turn our mistakes into points much easier than Tennessee did.
Right now, I think Kansas City is the only team better than the Steelers but if the Steelers can finally beat the extremely talented Ravens to be 7-0 it will go a long way in changing my mind and many others.