Ugly wins remain the standard in Pittsburgh, but there is noticeable improvement

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't unfamiliar with ugly wins. Many within the fanbase would likely argue the franchise is too familiar with the practice, especially in recent years.

While Sunday's win was ugly, certified with 18 points off the right foot of Chris Boswell, it should not be lost on Steelers Nation that there were clear improvements to the production from last year and beyond.

To ground the conversation, Kyle Brandt eloquently displayed what a liar Week 1 can be on NFL Gameday. Teams will grow throughout the 18 weeks of the NFL season, and the Steelers will surely be no different.

However, they did get off to a better start than the box score may indicate.

Steelers didn't win pretty, but there's a lot to feel good about

As social media was vocal about the questionable penalties against the Steelers, those plays had they stood could have completely shifted the outlook on Pittsburgh's win. With another turnover, the Steelers don't relinquish the touchdown to Kyle Pitts. Without the George Pickens offensive pass interference, the Steelers may grab a touchdown off the momentum of a great play.

Otherwise, the Steelers were largely conservative, which often leads to those ugly wins. But it's not as though the Steelers lacked aggression. Najee Harris ran angry behind his pads all game long and Justin Fields pushed the ball downfield wisely to George Pickens.

Where can the improvements come from offensively? Getting Jaylen Warren back healthy will help balance out the rushing attack. On the other side, the passing game has to look over the middle, which may be more likely with Russell Wilson in the lineup assuming his starter status.

This isn't the Killer B's era. As Fields said after the game, he's here to win no matter how many yards he throws for. Most of the players on this roster have the same mentality. Whether or not that is good enough for you as a fan is up to you. Steelers fans have certainly been burned on that mentality in the past.

Nonetheless, the vibe around the Pittsburgh Steelers has improved. Sure, there weren't any touchdowns, but at least the team got into scoring position seven times and cashed in six times. No, that isn't good enough, but it's a step up from the past three seasons.

In the end, the Steelers know their strengths and weaknesses. The defense will keep them in nearly every game, and if the offense can move the ball with some consistency as they did Sunday - and even relay that into touchdowns moving forward - the Steelers are playing exactly how they want to.

It's in the franchise's DNA to play ugly, hard-nosed, smashmouth football. I little bit of consistency goes a long way in rationalizing that approach. Week 1 was an okay start in that regard, so it's on Arthur Smith and the offense to build upon that accordingly in the coming weeks.