The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-5, and right in the thick of a race for the AFC North division with the Baltimore Ravens. Throughout this process there has been a growing group of fans who think the Steelers just making the playoffs simply isn’t good enough.
Now, there are a lot of fans who think the Steelers don’t have what it takes to get into the postseason, but even those who do will likely say the team doesn’t have a chance to make any noise, even if they do get a seat at the table.
My response to that is a resounding, “WHAT?!”
Yes, the defense has some issues, but this offense with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown could be good enough to put plenty of teams on notice come playoff time. Not to mention Ladarius Green starting to get his feet underneath him, and Sammie Coates likely to return to his early season form after suffering two broken fingers against the New York Jets.
You know, the defense itself isn’t as bad as many might believe. They are young, fast and athletic, and what impresses me the most is their ability to gel together as a unit. Plain and simple, the Steelers defense is an up-and-coming group. If the offense plays to it’s capabilities, and the defense continues their upward trend, there is no doubt in my mind Pittsburgh could be a team to be reckoned with.
Last year, after losing Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown in the postseason, with Ben Roethlisberger dragging his throwing arm around, no one gave them a chance against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional playoff game. They were a fumble away from punching their ticket to the AFC Championship game.
In 2005, they were the 6th seed, and no one really gave them a shot. I think we all know how that story played out.
In other words, sometimes all you need is to get a chance, and the Steelers currently control their own destiny at this point. Fans should be excited about the prospects of this team in the postseason, and you can hear more about this in the podcast at the top of this article.
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