The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-2 and in prime position to win the AFC North in back-to-back seasons.
Aaron Rodgers has turned back the clock and is playing at a solid level, leading the Steelers offense to four consecutive victories. People didn’t know what to expect with Mike Tomlin out of the picture and Pittsburgh’s own Mike McCarthy taking over. More of the same? A better-executed offense? The first losing season in over two decades? So far, so good.
Apologies and credit where credit is due have
been the main theme of the bye week for many in the media who were wrong, at least to this point, about the 6-2 team. NFL analyst and former offensive guard Damien Woody is surprised by how McCarthy has anchored the veteran team.
“I have to admit, I did not envision the Pittsburgh Steelers playing as well as they’re playing so far as we approach the halfway point,” Woody said on The OG Football Show. “I got to give my flowers to Mike McCarthy.”
The Steelers offense ranks 13th in total yards per game (351.8) and 14th in rushing (117.9). After years of failing to run the football, McCarthy and offensive line coach James Campen are delivering a legitimate running game.
“Mike McCarthy has done a hell of a job,” Woody said. “People frown upon him, but all Mike McCarthy has done is win in Green Bay; he won in Dallas, and now in his first year in Pittsburgh he has them sitting atop the AFC North… Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers and company are pushing all the right buttons. The Pittsburgh Steelers, to me, are the absolute surprise so far.”
Former Steeler and current broadcaster Merril Hoge believes the Super Bowl champion coach belongs in Canton for his decades of success in three cities.
“If you took his resume and his credentials and stacked it up to Hall of Famers, it’s very similar and better in some ways,” Hoge said. “He gets no credit for that. Nobody thinks of him like that. But he can stack up against not only great ones that are still coaching today, but those that sit in the Hall.”
The Steelers lead the NFL in sacks. Jaylen Warren is in contention for Offensive Player of the Year and holds more rushing yards than Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Christian McCaffrey.
Pittsburgh’s schedule will sharpen with games against Philadelphia, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, and Baltimore (twice) coming up. The Steelers always have difficult battles against the Ravens and haven’t won in Philadelphia since 1965.
The Steelers are exceeding expectations, and historically, 90% of teams that start 6-2 make the playoffs. Are the pieces coming together to make a playoff run for the first time in a full decade?
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
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