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The Steelers’ Week 14 win over the Cardinals does little to impact the fans’ confidence

The Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road and beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, but by fan confidence you wouldn’t know it.

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NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers did something they haven’t done in a while. They traveled to the west coast twice, and won both games. Oh yeah, and they did so with an undrafted rookie quarterback — BOTH TIMES!

After Devlin Hodges beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6 on Sunday Night Football, and then beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14, the fan base has been riding high with their favorite team. A three game winning streak and winners of 7 of their last 8 is something to be proud of. But the most recent win didn’t really impact the fan base’s confidence in the team.

The latest FanPulse results certainly paint a pretty accurate photo of how fans truly feel:

When it comes to the data, the Steelers’ fan confidence start to increase all the way to an 83% approval rating after the team’s Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The 83% approval was the highest the fan base has recorded since after Week 1 in the preseason, but plummeted to 38% after the Week 11 loss to the Browns. Following the Week 12 win over the Bengals, fan confidence rose to a 46% approval rating, and continued to sky rocket to 75% after their revenge win over Cleveland at Heinz Field.

You would think the win over the Cardinals would move the needle in the right direction, but you’d be wrong. In fact, the Steelers’ approval percentage stayed the same at 75%.

I guess I get it, the team beat a team they should have taken care of, and they didn’t really put them away in convincing fashion. However, I have a feeling the Week 15 game vs. the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football will be a game which could really move fan confidence drastically in one way or another.

There is certainly plenty on the line for the black-and-gold. A prime time win would catapult them ahead of the Bills in the standings, giving them the 5 seed in the AFC Playoff Picture. It would also set up a win-and-in situation in Week 16 when the Steelers travel to play the New York Jets.

Lose the game Sunday night and suddenly the reality of possibly missing the playoffs becomes all too real. Yeah, it is a huge game.

Can Devlin Hodges keep the legend of the Duck going? Or will reality creep up and hand the Steelers a devastating loss? Let’s hope the Steelers find a way to advance to 9-5 as they they host the Bills this week on Sunday Night Football.

Do you want to be a part of the BTSC Steelers FanPulse? It is easy to sign up for, and takes mere minutes a week. Simply click HERE and fill out the appropriate information!