When you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2016 schedule, you could do some searching looking for that one win which defined the season. Well, if you are looking for that game, you might be looking for a while because, in my opinion, the team hasn’t had such a win yet.
Some might say the Week 2 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, or the Week 4 win against the Kansas City Chiefs could be categorized as statement wins, but they are far too early in the season to be considered as such an important victory for the Steelers. Some expected the Indianapolis Colts game on Thanksgiving to fill this void on the schedule, but without Andrew Luck under center it has those looking for validation continuing their search.
What exactly is the criteria for a statement win? For me it comes down to a few key components:
- Time of the game (later in the season the games mean more)
- Caliber of opponent
- Venue (Home or Away)
- A game which could catapult the team to future success
For the Steelers preparing for the New York Giants, there is no doubt in my mind the upcoming game at Heinz Field fits all the criteria.
At 6-5, the Steelers need to stretch their two-game winning streak to three, and doing so against a red-hot Giants team at Heinz Field could very well catapult them into first place in the AFC North, as well as onto bigger and better things as the remainder of the 2016 season softens down the stretch.
Take a listen to the latest podcast in the player above where I dive into these topics in the latest edition of the “Steelers Connection”.
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