Steel City Blitz
With only 17 games, EVERY game in the National Football League is important. That being said, some games do carry more significance than do others. This week is a perfect example as the Pittsburgh Steelers head to LA to play the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Why is this one “different” you ask? There are several reasons in my opinion.
In weeks seven and eight, the Steelers’ defense was beaten, abused and tortured by Cincinnati and Green Bay. The unit gave up over 900 total yards of offense to those two teams and recorded nary a turnover. With the 7-1 Indianapolis Colts and their number one offense coming into the Steel City last Sunday, it didn’t look good.
The defense rose to the occasion however and then some as they turned the Colts over six times and sacked Daniel Jones five times. The question now is whether that performance was something real and something we can expect to see or was it a mirage? Was it a stand-alone performance that gets us to breathe easy and assume the defense is back to its old self? The Chargers’ offense will pose a serious threat as they are one of the better offensive units in the League.
By Monday morning we will have our answer. The Steelers’ defense will either have turned a serious corner or they will be back to square one.
LA enters the game at 6-3 and second in the AFC West behind Denver. They also have a 5-1 record against fellow AFC opponents. The Steelers meanwhile are 5-3 and sit atop the AFC North. They currently have a 4-1 record against their AFC opponents. With four divisional games remaining (2 with BAL), there are no guarantees the Steelers will win this division.
The same could be said for the Chargers. Not only do they have to catch the Broncos, but they also have to fend off the Kansas City Chiefs as well. LA has just three AFC West games remaining – one with each opponent – to go along with two other AFC games which are the Jaguars and Texans. For the Steelers, they have those four divisional games but they too have just the two other AFC opponents left in Buffalo and Miami.
Oddly enough the Steelers will head into the primetime game in LA with an 0-2 record in night games this season. Losses to Green Bay and Cincinnati occurred on Sunday and Thursday nights respectively. In day games, the Steelers are 5-1. With this one scheduled for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, can Pittsburgh break their unfortunate pattern? Normally, they have always been thought of as a winner in primetime games but not so this season.
Ultimately, a win or a loss may not mean much in the grand scheme of things but based on the last decade of Mike Tomlin and his teams, a chance at the postseason will come down to tie-breakers. I’d much rather...
