When the Steelers lost 24-19 to Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, I was eager to come to their defense. It was a rivalry game, on the road, at a questionable time on the calendar, and ended in a blizzard—I simply refused to lose my head over those kinds of circumstances.
Before I joined the club of panicking fans, I figured we ought as well see how the team would bounce back against Cincinnati, in hopes of the result serving as proof of the Cleveland loss being a fluke, and I think it at least somewhat did. The offense was far more explosive, and the defense (while giving up many points) made multiple big plays.
Only one thing could have soothed everyone’s minds better than a game like that, and that’s beating Cleveland right after it in a rematch—which is precisely what Pittsburgh did.
When back home and playing in less-trying weather, the Steelers were able to be on the winning end of a convincing 27-14 affair and move up to a fantastic 10-3 on the season. Though the offense was not as stellar as it was in Cincy, it wasn’t expected to be, and Russell Wilson still had a comfortable yet efficient day at the helm. The win also kept Tomlin’s dominance in regular-season home games against Cleveland rolling, so all in all, it topped off the reassurance yinzers needed and then some.
I’d also be willing to bet that it did similar for the Steelers themselves, as they wanted to prove that they should be more defined by their several wins than some outlier loss, wanting especially to do so before strolling into Philly to take on the Eagles.
But, on top of the fan service and confidence boost, Pittsburgh may have just shown a glimpse of something it’s been desiring for years now: consistency.
Steelers' lack of consistency has routinely headlined its downfall
Sure, the final scores as of recently haven’t drawn an insanely steady line, and the Steelers beating a team that had beaten them a whopping two weeks prior is actually the exact opposite of consistent, but I’m talking more about the general path that the team is on in what could eventually become a playoff push.
Even in the last two or three seasons that saw the Steelers make the postseason, they had a slate where it felt like they could lose to any team at any time with no questions asked, and it was because of that shaky reputation that many of us felt thankful to just be getting an extra game—but this time it’s different.
Now, the Steelers feel like they’re legit, sitting firmly in the AFC standings, not as some lame squad that’s simply hit a lucky streak, but as a genuine contender that folks are kicking themselves for not seeing coming.
That has been such a needed feeling in the Steel City, and with the latest threat to it having essentially just been canceled out, morale is at an all-time high.