Why the Steelers will be defined by their trip to Washington in Week 10

The Steelers, just as we knew they could be, are 6-2 on the year as they exit their bye week, bedazzled by a defense that has played lights-out and an offense that looks like the best version of itself since the “Killer Bees” era.

However, a lot of their momentum has been garnered through opposition that isn’t only limited, but too flawed to consistently keep up with anyone formidable. For reference, the Steelers are currently on a three-game winning streak thanks to the Raiders, Jets, and Giants.

Not only do each of those teams have six losses or more, but the Raiders just exceeded 20 points in a game for the first time since September, the Jets just broke a five-game loss streak (that included defeats dealt by the Broncos and Patriots), and the Giants have more games that saw them held to single digits (3) than ones that saw them win (2).

Meanwhile, a team that meets none of those descriptions are the Washington Commanders.

Surprisingly, Washington isn’t a joke for a change

The Commanders are 7-2 with one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and will be at home for their date with Pittsburgh. If the Steelers were to lose, many would argue that it’s not the end of the world and, as far as the result itself, they’d be correct. I mean, it’d definitely be considered a “quality loss,” and the Steelers would still be 6-3 on the year, which is an objectively solid record, so what’d be the big deal?

To me, the answer is simple: The loss wouldn’t just put a three in the latter column but also have the potential to set a detrimental tone as Pittsburgh enters what is easily both the tougher and more important half of its schedule.

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After the road trip to D.C. comes a barrage of divisional showdowns that are interrupted only by the Eagles and Chiefs, who have proven themselves to be some of the league’s top teams on a weekly basis. Again, with the Commanders serving as Pittsburgh’s biggest challenge yet—especially for its defense, which is typically its pride and joy—a loss to them would be a gut punch at a time when you can least afford to take one.

From there, assuming that the loss was not a fluke of any kind, and rather genuinely exposed Pittsburgh’s limits as an overall team, everything that we Steelers fans thought we knew would have been proven dead wrong, and we could be in for one of the most sobering collapses we’ve seen our guys take in recent memory.

With all of that said, here’s to hoping that the Steelers get the dub, multiply the worth of their résumé, and strike fear into their AFC North counterparts one more time before meeting them on the gridiron.