Steel City Blitz
A few lucky bounces and Chris Boswell’s leg are all that’s keeping the Pittsburgh Steelers from being 0-2. At 1-1 however, there is tremendous concern following a listless and very underwhelming performance in their home opening loss to Seattle. There is however, a great opportunity for the Black and Gold to get themselves right. The next five weeks bring four opponents whose fortunes have changed dramatically and very much in the Steelers’ favor. The question is whether Mike Tomlin’s crew can take advantage.
In the next five weeks (their BYE week is week five) they will play in New England, in Ireland against Minnesota, at home against Cleveland and at Cincinnati. On paper and including recent injuries, the Steelers should come out of this stretch at 4-0 or 3-1 at the absolute worst.
A trip to New England awaits the Steelers and whether Tom Brady is gone or not doesn’t matter. The Steelers have only won once there in seven games dating back to 2002. Under Mike Vrabel, the Patriots have already established themselves as a team that is much more physical and more dynamic than they were in Bill Belichick’s final years and Jerod Mayo’s one season. They are top ten in passing and the running game is just under 100 yards per game. The Pats’ run defense is third in the league but if there’s a ray of hope it’s that they are last in the NFL against the pass.
The Steelers will host Minnesota in Dublin in week four and will avoid having to play J.J. McCarthy who is nursing an ankle sprain. Enter Carson Wentz. The long-time QB has plenty of experience and knowledge but the Steelers will have to force him into some of the turnovers he’s known to have. The Vikings also play very solid defense behind coordinator Brian Flores and as you know, games in Europe always seem to have a fluky quality about them.
Cleveland will likely enter Acrisure Stadium in week six with Joe Flacco at the helm. If the Steelers’ defense continues on its current path, Flacco possesses the ability and knowledge to still make them pay. The offense really isn’t that good but their defense is still quite formidable and in rivalry games, anything can happen.
The final game of the four game stretch is a Thursday Night affair in Cincinnati. Once again the team will not have to face Joe Burrow who is scheduled for surgery on his toe and is out for probably three months. His backup Jake Browning led the Bengals to a comeback win over Jacksonville on Sunday so anyone overlooking him and the Bengals’ offense isn’t paying attention. The Bengals’ defense is not good – to be blunt – and if the Steelers can’t take advantage of them then we could be in for a rough Thursday nighter.
The NFL has always been difficult to grasp because things literally do...
