Bye Week

The most dreaded week for Steelers fans is quickly approaching, the bye week. Steeler football will not be played this week, and Steelers fans will have to wait another week before watching the black and gold again. It is truly a tragedy. However, it is an opportune time to look over the season the Steelers have been having so far, and determine where they need to go heading forward.

As of now, the Steelers currently maintain a record of 6-4. This puts them at a winning percentage of .600. While this isn't the start the Steelers were hoping for, it is hard to be mad about this outcome. The Steelers have been plagued with injuries and suspensions this year. First, they had to overcome two game and four game suspensions of running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Martavis Bryant, respectively. Then during the middle of this season's campaign, they lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to an MCL injury that sidelined him for several weeks. Upon his return, Le'Veon Bell's season was ended due to an MCL injury. Clearly, the Steelers have had their share of bad luck this year.

Nevertheless, backups have always been good replacements for these injured players. Running back DeAngelo Williams proved to be an outstanding off season pick-up. The veteran player has seemingly gained new life in the Steeler offense. He has already racked up multiple 100 yard games and multi-touchdown games.

Roethlisberger's backups have also performed well. The combination of Michael Vick and Landry Jones were able to post a .500 record while Ben was out. This is no small feat for two quarterbacks who are not assimilated with the starting offense. Additionally, Jones lacked any real NFL experience. He started his first game during this stretch.

Now although backups have been able to keep the Steelers afloat in the playoff picture, their dreams of a division title have seemingly vanquished. The rival Cincinnati Bengals are currently at 8-1. This leads the division and is 2.5 games in front of the Steelers. With only six games remaining, it would take several crucial wins by the Steelers and several losses by the Bengals in order to obtain any hope of securing a division title.

Moving forward, the Steelers face a schedule with many divisional opponents. This is a positive due to the fact that the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns are two of the worst teams in the league this year. However, their non-divisional opponents include the likes of the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Both of these teams are viable Super Bowl contenders this year. Wins against these two teams and the Bengals will be crucial.

With all this said the Steelers have posted a very average season this year. Nevertheless, all that matters in the end is making the playoffs and having a shot at the Super Bowl. If the Steelers accomplish this then the season will have surely been a success. HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!!

The Price of Defeat

The Steelers suffered much more than just a loss Sunday. They suffered a season ending injury to starting running back Le’Veon Bell. They also suffered the loss of any hope at a division title. On top of that, they lost their playoff spot for the time being. It was simply an all-around terrible weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There seemed to simply be no ray of hope for the struggling Steelers team.

This week was supposed to be different. Starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was supposed to return from injury this week and lead the Steelers to victory against the rival Bengals. In fact, it appeared as if this would be the case during the first drive of the game. The offense quickly maneuvered their way down the field for what would be an eventual touchdown to receiver Antonio Brown. The Steelers simply looked unstoppable.

However, it was all downhill from this point. The Steelers were lackluster to say the least. Both on offense and defense, the Steelers lacked communication and the ability to accomplish anything. It truly was a hard game to watch overall.

Nevertheless, there is no need to linger on the past. This week in practice, the Steeler offense needs to rally behind Ben and replacement running back DeAngelo Williams. Williams was a star at the beginning of the season during Bell’s suspension. Hopefully, he will be able to pick up where he left off and create a lethal Steelers rushing attack.

Nevertheless, the offense still lies on the shoulders of Ben. The quarterback must regain his lost confidence or the season is over for the Steelers. If Ben can return to his form prior to the injury then the Steelers will without a doubt be legitimate playoff contenders.

This coming week will perhaps be the biggest game of the year for the Steelers. They are set to take on the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders overtook the final playoff spot from the Steelers last weekend with their win over the Jets. It is crucial for the Steelers to get a victory in order to regain that spot and maintain the head to head tiebreaker against the Raiders. This means that if at the end of the season if both teams have the same record, then the winner of this game will secure the playoff position.

Overall, this will be very difficult game for the Steelers. The Raiders are surging this year in a way that they haven’t in decades. Additionally, the Steelers are in no position to be taking any teams lightly at this point in the season.

In order to win, the Steelers must contain quarterback Derek Carr and rookie receiver Amari Cooper. This duo has been lethal this year. Therefore, the Steeler defense must stop this attack. This could give the offense some breathing room and allow Ben to regain his confidence, which is essential.

Now while Ben regains his confidence, the fans need to regain theirs. GO STEELERS!!!!