3 biggest overreactions to Steelers' clean Week 8 win vs. the Giants

The Steelers kept their winning streak alive against the Giants, beating them soundly even if the game looked close at times. From their recent three-game win streak in addition to their impressive 6-2 record, the fan base has a lot to celebrate. Naturally, this celebration has also been full of overreactions to this game and team.

There are some things worth celebrating and reacting to. It finally seems as though Najee Harris has finally found his footing (it only took 3.5 seasons and a contract year), and George Pickens looks like a different beast in this new offense.

Finally, it seems like Mike Tomlin made the right call turning to Russell Wilson, as he has given this team a new identity. That said, please don’t get hung up on these three major overreactions this week.

Steelers have a star in Beanie Bishop

It was a slow start to Beanie Bishop’s Steelers career. Despite assuming the starting slot role from the beginning of the season, his early stretch of games was pretty bad. He was a sound tackler, but he wasn’t effective in coverage and left a lot to be desired in his play. He easily had a career game against the Jets and followed that up with another interception against the Giants.

For those saying that Bishop has finally arrived though, please cool it off a little. Yes, the past two weeks have been strong, but his overall game against the Giants wasn’t elite. The interception was great, but he didn’t play as well as he did against the Jets. As well, Cameron Sutton is eligible to return, so he will, at a minimum, be pushed for playing time. He is still ascending, but he needs to prove a lot more before I can cement him as a quality starter for this defense.

Steelers no longer need a second receiver

While Pickens made his mark against the Giants, the real story was the contributions from Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin. Jefferson finally made some big plays and looked like a viable second choice for the team. Austin, meanwhile, found the endzone for the second time this season and also ran a punt back for an additional score.

That all said if the right trade materializes, adding another receiver isn’t a bad move right now. Jefferson has had his limitations, and Austin is mostly an inside receiver. Also, you are one injured Pickens away from being desperate in the receiver room. I don’t think you need to spend heavily on a deal, but adding a cheap veteran still makes a lot of sense.

Steelers are Super Bowl contenders

I am as happy as anyone that the Steelers improved to 6-2 and have looked dominant at times during this stretch. They are exceeding my expectations and look far better than I gave them credit for. That said, there is a serious conglomerate of fans that have this team as a Super Bowl contender, and I am not there yet.

This is the best offense that we have seen in ages, but they haven’t been perfect. Even with Wilson, scoring has been an issue, and this unit has to work on getting the ball into the end zone after moving it as they have. The defense started the year at an elite pace but has fallen off. You can get by with these issues against lesser teams, but you are about to face some stiffer teams in the second half of the season. If those kinks aren’t worked out, a Super Bowl is not in the cards.