Pittsburgh Steelers Fact or Fiction: Playoff Push or Panic edition

The Steelers are still bruised and battered and at 8-6 could find themselves one spot out of the tourney unless they win oh. With a lot of inquiries eventually to be answered, BTSC anticipates the storylines and issues bold statements regarding each one of them. Let’s take a look and deem them as fact or fiction.

Duck Season is over and so should be the fanfare

Fact

Devlin Hodges was named QB1 of the Steelers for the 12/1 game against Cleveland and had played relatively well until the Buffalo game. The defense of the Bills is awfully good and No. 6 was just plain awful on SNF. With a game plan that featured only 15 rushing attempts, it was no surprise to the opposition when Duck dropped back to pass. He may not be the future of the team, but “Mr. Right Now” still seems to be the best option to get the team a postseason berth.

Paxton Lynch should get a look at QB1

Fiction

No. Playing Lynch, who was drafted in the first round of 2016, would be an ever bigger reach than Duck Hodges. The Broncos gave up on the 6’7” Lynch after only two seasons in 2017 and he failed to hook-on in Seattle. The Steelers need stability and playing musical chairs at such a crucial position is fruitless. Lynch would be nothing but “fool’s gold” at this point.

T.J. Watt is the favorite for Steelers Team MVP

Fact

For the second-straight year, Watt has reached 13 sacks. However, he still has two games remaining to tie or eclipse James Harrison’s record of 16 from 2008. While Minkah Fitzpatrick has been a stabilizing force and is a bright-shining star, Watt has been a dominant disrupter. I’m thinking Watt to be a lock.

The selection of Maurkice Pouncey to the Pro Bowl seems to be based more on reputation and career achievement

Fact

Pouncey is slated for his eighth all-star performance, but his play in 2019 has shown a drop off in 2019. No. 53 is a great leader and certainly will be a Steeler legend, but his snaps have been uncharacteristically erratic in 2019. Currently Pouncey is ranked 36 of 36 centers in the league, so this statement has merit.

Devin Bush and Tyler Matakevich could still be Pro Bowl players in 2019

Fact

Both men were leading vote getters at their respective positions on fan ballots and players seem to drop out all the time. Throw in the fact that the Ravens have 12 players on the AFC team and, as favorites for the Super Bowl, both the rookie and Dirty Red could still earn the honor.

Are these statements valid? We will soon see. What matters most is your opinions on the matter. Please state them in the comments below.