Despite struggles, Steelers could have a win streak in sight

Last week, I asserted that the Pittsburgh Steelers had what it took to beat the Cleveland Browns in spite of their contrasting Week 1 performances, and I’m beyond ecstatic to say that I was absolutely right. However, what I’m not ecstatic about is how it happened.

Before I dig into the details of why, I want to break the ice with something we can all agree on. I know that what I’m about to say will essentially be me parroting what Steelers fans have been saying for an eternity now, but I feel that it must be addressed once more when discussing Monday’s display: The offense sucks.

One could certainly argue we witnessed that fact in action during the season-opening beatdown against San Francisco—believe it or not, nothing about putting up just seven points screams “offensive powerhouse”—but at least that was against a squad that we know to be a consistent contender in its conference. This time around, it was against a Browns team that hasn’t consistently contended for anything other than last place in the AFC North.

But hold on a minute, didn’t the Steelers beat Cleveland 26-22? If they got the win and multiplied their Week 1 score by over three times, doesn’t the offense at least seem good enough? Perhaps, but taking that stance would have to include not watching how the points were scored.

In total, Pittsburgh finished with three touchdowns to its name, but one was a pick-six by Alex Highsmith and another was a scoop-n-score by T.J. Watt.

For the defense to do that much and the team still only win by four implies that anything less than such a dominating performance would have resulted in a loss. Especially when considering that the Browns lost star running back Nick Chubb well before halftime to a gruesome leg injury, that is hard to ignore regardless of how good victory feels. But through it all, I intend to be an optimist.

First off, as cliché as the saying may be, a win is a win, and I’ll happily die on that hill when discussing a rivalry game. It provides the Steelers with a much-needed boost in morale after their aforementioned showing against the 49ers.

However, I want to take things a step further and make a case for the Week 2 dub being the start of what could/should be a promising tear for Pittsburgh—and not just because of the team’s skill (obviously).

The Steelers face beatable opponents in Weeks 3 and 4

As previously established, the Steelers did look better in regard to general factors like the result of the matchup, points produced, and, of course, defensive playmaking, which all count for something. But beyond that, their next two games appear very much manageable, with the first of the pair being a visit to Las Vegas for a duel with the Raiders.

At face value, going on the road to beat what has historically been a conference rival comes off as a rather difficult task, but luckily for Pittsburgh, the Raiders have had a hideous start to their own 2023-24 campaign.

While they were just barely able to squeak by the winless Denver Broncos 17-16, they went on to get decimated by the Bills 38-10 in Buffalo. In that stretch, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown as many interceptions as he has touchdowns (3).

To summarize, that leaves Vegas as nothing more than an offensively dormant team needing to score on Pittsburgh’s lethal defense right after falling victim to a four-touchdown pummeling. I wouldn’t place too high of a bet on that happening.

Next up on the Steelers schedule is another road trip, this time to Houston to battle the Texans. If the circumstances surrounding their 0-2 record provide any implication, they’re likely in for about as sorry of a run as one would expect for them.

Along with having lost both games by double-digit margins, they also have an offense that can seemingly be contained by an adequate-enough defense. In their opener against the Ravens, they were held to just nine points, failing to hit the endzone once. While they scored 20 this last Sunday, that was against the Colts, whose less-impressive defense gave up 31 in their own opener.

And, for what it's worth, the Texans are 2-5 against the Steelers all-time, with the former of the two victories being obtained in the first year of their existence and the latter still being over a decade old. Since that second win (2011), they are 0-3 in encounters with Pittsburgh.

Simply put, the Texans are set to enter their Steelers date with a stench of all-around inferiority to go alongside their likely combination of worse record and flawed offense. I can't imagine that being a very good look for them.

The Steelers are clearly far from great today, but if their defense can continue to make big plays while their upcoming foes struggle, the next couple of games could quite possibly fall into their win column—and if we’re really lucky, we could maybe even see some offensive reliability be crafted in the process.