Super Bowl results give Steelers fans hope for the future

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to wipe the floor with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Here’s why the results of the game give Steelers fans hope.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot of things going for them prior to Sunday Night’s Super Bowl blowout over the Kansas City Chiefs. In addition to winning seven straight games prior to their Super Bowl appearance (including three playoff games), the Bucs also had a home-field advantage for the biggest game on turf.

For Steelers fans, there were more than enough reasons to root against Tampa Bay on Sunday night. While we could list the reasons we would like to see both teams go down, Pittsburgh is sick of Tom Brady winning Super Bowls, and the fact that the treacherous Antonio Brown now has a Super Bowl ring burns us up inside.

Still, this game showed us something; that defenses can still win championships.

Let’s face the facts here: the Buccaneers are a really good team and they finished near the top of the league in both offense and defense in 2020. However, they were far from unbeatable (as evidenced by their 7-5 record by Week 12). Though their team is currently more talented in Pittsburgh, the way the Steelers have been building their team could prove to be a winning recipe.

Steelers may not be that far away from a Super Bowl

This might seem like a stretch because Pittsburgh is set to have 19 unrestricted free agents this offseason, but a Super Bowl appearance (even a win) could be within their grasp. Patrick Mahomes is one of the most valuable players in all of football, and he will no doubt go down as one of the best players of all-time when it’s all said and done. However, as dominant as he has been early in his career, the Buccaneers showed that defenses can still win championships.

This is great news for the Steelers – a team that continually builds for success on the defensive side of the ball. There are a lot of analytics out there today that claim that an elite offense is really all that matters. While Tampa Bay does still have a very good offense, it was their defense that put on a show against arguably the best team in the league in Super Bowl LV.

A great pass rush and a strong secondary led the Buccaneers to a 31-9 Super Bowl win. They allowed just one touchdown all game to one of the best quarterbacks in the business and held Patrick Mahomes to just 270 yards with 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions ( a 52.3 passer rating).

Though the Steelers have a lot of work to do on their offensive line, their team resembles Tampa Bay in many ways. They both have aging quarterbacks who use the short and intermediate passing game a lot, and they run a conservative offense that will give their defense time to rest and allow them to be dominant. Ben Roethlisberger may no longer be the player he once was, but he has been in big-game situations before and it’s possible the Steelers could get by with a game-manager at the helm.

Pittsburgh is clearly a lesser version of this right now, but with another great draft class that will no doubt focus on the offensive line and running game, it’s possible that the Steelers could be back in the mix as contenders next season.

At the very least, it’s encouraging to note that it’s not always the best offense that wins out. Though the Steelers have their work cut out for them on the offensive side of the ball, Super Bowl LV shows us that Pittsburgh could win a Super Bowl of their own with the way they are currently building their team.