The Steelers, and their fans, regain their swagger heading into Week 11

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get off to a great start. After all, there was a reason Mike Tomlin referred to the team’s horrid start as the “September Stench”. Nonetheless, the uber talented group rebounded from their 1-2-1 start, and have rattled off 5 straight wins heading into a Week 11 meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yeah, the swagger is back.

Unlike recent years, there aren’t players chirping from their locker stalls, but just a quiet confidence surrounding the group as they continue to put their heads down and prove they are more than capable — with or without Le’Veon Bell.

What has been fun to watch, from a website editor’s perspective, has been the confidence the fan base has shown, or hasn’t shown, in the black-and-gold throughout the year.

Take a look at the most recent FanPulse chart for BTSC fans, from BTSC fans:

You can see a near 100-percent confidence heading into the Week 1 game vs. the Cleveland Browns, and then a steep drop off which were the losses to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.

I found it interesting how a huge win over the Atlanta Falcons at home didn’t give the confidence numbers quite the boost I expected. Nor did the win over the Cincinnati Bengals prior to the bye week. No, it wasn’t until wins over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium and demolishing the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football when the fans confidence has started to really pick up.

The players have found their swagger, and it seems the fans have too! The question now is whether they will keep this upward trajectory, or if the Jaguars will be the downer on the team’s parade for the third straight time.