3 reasons why any serious doubt of the 2020 Steelers was unmerited
Record in 2019 is exposing itself in 2020
As stated earlier, the Steelers have nearly won as many games in 2020 as they did in 2019, finishing 8-8. But taking a more in-depth look, things weren’t as bad as the horror of the offense.
The seven opponents they played that ended with a plus .500 record, Pittsburgh only won the game, but in the six they lost was by an average margin of 10.7 points. And if you were to remove the 30 point deficit they faced in week one to the New England Patriots, that number drops to 6.8. A one-score difference.
A spectacular outing by what the defense could do despite an offense that ranked 27th in points per game; they handled business when they needed to but fell short when the competition was lopsided outside their favor.
The screaming desire was the return of Roethlisberger to fix the inefficiencies that existed at that time, & with him nowhere plus a couple of new faces, everything that was wanted has not disappointed and performed even better.
The missing link and his bag of weapons
A few months ago, we detailed the “ultimate 17th-year quarterback” & the numbers Ben would have to surpass if he wanted a stake at that claim. Looking back, they read like this:
“Year 17 QBs All-Time Highs (min. 10 games)
Throwing Yards – 4334 (2017 Drew Brees)
Touchdowns – 28 (Tied w/ 2016 Tom Brady & 2007 Brett Favre)
Completion Percentage – 72.01% (2017 Drew Brees)
Interceptions – 2 (2016 Tom Brady)
QB Rate – 112.2 (2016 Tom Brady)
Yards Per Game – 296.2 (2016 Tom Brady)”
On pace to be the touchdown leader, some high-volume games in yards would be needed if he wanted his name atop a few of these lists. Still, he’s already doing what they missed the most—being a complacent football player at the most critical position that chain-linked them to being an average football team in 2019.
His 15 passing touchdowns in seven games is just three away from tying the total of both QB Mason Rudolph & Devlin Hodges in sixteen. The five times Roethlisberger has thrown for more than 200 yards is already greater than the four times they did a year ago in the full season.
A real effect across the whole team, the RBs have also benefited much from the return of Big Ben, rushing for 100 or more yards in five of the seven games tying the amount they did in 2019. Also, no WR averaged more than 46 receiving yards per game, while both WR Chase Claypool & Juju Smith-Schuster are up to 49 or better so far this season.
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It almost sounds unbelievable how bad it was & still only be a game away from entering as a playoff wildcard team. However, a now-forgotten season that means nothing, the Steelers sit atop of the AFC North division, holding the number one seed in the AFC conference, & now on an island of achievement from the rest of the NFL. The dreams that once were of “what if” is playing itself right in front of everyone’s eyes and should have always been if looked plainly.