With their easiest games at the front end of the schedule, the Steelers did exactly what they had to do in the first half of their season. They sit at 6-2 atop the AFC North as they enter their off week, with only the Chiefs owning a better record in the conference.
For a team with a directive from ownership to finally start winning again in the postseason, the Steelers are well on their way to earning one of the top seeds in the AFC. They are currently third in the conference standings and could challenge the Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, for the No. 1 seed.
It won’t be easy with the schedule that awaits over the final nine weeks of the regular season. The Steelers have all six of their division games remaining along with contests against the Chiefs, Commanders and Eagles. Five of the final nine are on the road, and five are against teams currently in the playoff field.
Here are three reasons to be optimistic about the Steelers in the second half of the season:
Defensive splash
The Steelers are second in the NFL in turnover margin (plus-10) and takeaways (15). Only the Bills (plus-11) are better in margin, and only the Packers have created more (19).
T.J. Watt isn’t racking up sacks at his usual pace, but he’s running away with NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He is tied for the league lead in forced fumbles with four. His strip-sack of Daniel Jones late in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s 26-18 victory was one of the biggest plays in the game. No player in the NFL comes up with splash plays at more opportune times. Watt had two forced fumbles in the victory in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and both led to Steelers touchdowns.
“I just come to expect it because he's got a unique talent, a unique approach,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Usually that produces unique results with a really consistent tone to it, and usually at the most timely moments. I think the new Steelers are shaking their heads. I think the guys that have been here kind of expect it.”
What’s been promising for the Steelers is how the other turnovers have come. Undrafted rookie free agent Beanie Bishop has three interceptions in the past two games. Donte Jackson, the compensation in the Diontae Johnson trade, also has three interceptions. If the Steelers can ever get Minkah Fitzpatrick involved in the turnover game, they’ll really have something.
The ever-improving offense
It’s not a secret Tomlin struggled to find competent offensive coordinators in recent years, but the decision to tab Arthur Smith to run his offense is looking like one of the best moves of his offseason.
After three years of struggles under former coordinator Matt Canada, Smith has the Steelers in the top half of the league in some important areas: they are eighth in rushing and 15th in scoring. They are averaging 5.5 more points per game with Smith calling the plays. That’s a huge jump in production, and the Steelers have left a lot of points on the field.
The outlook is even better considering how the offense has operated with Russell Wilson at quarterback. In his two starts, the Steelers are averaging 31.5 points and 418 yards per game. The Steelers have three 400-yard games under Smith. They had zero with Canada in his 44 games running the offense.
The special talents of the special teams
Seemingly every week, the Steelers come up with a big special teams play. Against the Giants, Calvin Austin broke a five-year drought without a punt return for a touchdown when his 73-yarder to put the Steelers ahead in the second half. In the previous three weeks they had a blocked kick in each game.
And, of course, Chris Boswell is having another career year. He’s 23 for 24 and his only miss came from 62 yards. He might be the best kicker in the league.
“It's a legitimate phase of the game for us,” Tomlin said. “We give it that respect, not only in words but in our approach, in how we work. The guys make it real with their efforts.”
And three reasons to be pessimistic about the Steelers as they get ready for the second half:
Red-zone offense
The Steelers have done an excellent job of getting into scoring territory in the first eight games of the season, but they’re among the worst teams in the NFL in red-zone touchdown percentage. They’ve converted just 46% of their trips inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns. Only the Giants, Cowboys, Chargers and Dolphins are converting at a lower percentage.
The Steelers are coming off a game when they went 0 for 4 in the red zone, and the coaches have to figure out whether they can infuse backup quarterback Justin Fields into some goal-to-go packages in the second half to give the offense a spark. Fields is among the top quarterbacks in the red zone this season. His five rushing touchdowns are second only to Jalen Hurts in the red zone, and Fields hasn’t played in the past two games. He also is completing 65% of his passes and has four touchdown passes inside the 20.
Wilson has always been one of the league’s top red-zone quarterbacks, but he’s struggled in his first two starts. He’s just 2 for 11 in the red zone. Yes, he was close to writing a different story on Monday night when he had two touchdowns wiped off the board. But the numbers are the numbers. Whether it’s Wilson or Fields, Smith has to get more efficiency out of his offense in the red zone.
Tomlin always says he wants to engineer victory more fluidly. Well, scoring more touchdowns when the opportunities arise would turn some of these close games into routs.
The leaky run defense
Yes, the Steelers own one of the NFL’s top statistical defenses, but their run defense has been showing some cracks.
It was alarming how easily Giants running back Tyrone Tracy sliced through the front seven on Monday night. Tracy ran for 145 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. The discouraging aspect of his big night was the timing of his biggest runs. He popped a 45-yard touchdown run that got the Giants back in the game right after the Steelers established a 14-point lead. That’s a situation when the defense wants to seize control of the game, not let the Giants back in.
“It wasn’t like we weren’t there to make the tackles,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “We just didn’t get them on the ground. Even when we thought we were starting to settle in in the second half, he reeled off a big one for a touchdown. That can’t happen. We have to clean that up as soon as possible. The run game kept them in the game. There is a fine line between winning and losing. We have to clean this up immediately or teams are going to go right back to this formula. It’s on our tape. We own it.”
Three teams have now rushed for more than 100 yards against the Steelers, and they’ll be challenged even more after the bye week. The NFL’s top three rushing teams — the Ravens, Commanders and Eagles — await the Steelers in the second half of the season.
Injury luck
It’s been one of those years for the Steelers with injuries.
They’ve already lost three starting offensive linemen for the season, more than half of their rookie class is on injured reserve, and other important players have missed long stretches with injuries. To their credit, the Steelers have lived up to Tomlin’s next-man-up mentality, but how many more injuries can they absorb?
The depth along the defensive line is a concern especially with 30-something veterans Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi having to play two-thirds of the snaps almost every game. It feels like a season when the Steelers’ stars have to stay healthy. It goes without saying the offense cannot afford to lose George Pickens for any period of time.
The last time the Steelers were off to this kind of start was 2020, when they began the season with eight consecutive victories. Injuries finally caught up with them late in the season. They’ll be hoping to avoid a similar fate this season.
First Published: October 29, 2024, 3:51 p.m.
Updated: October 30, 2024, 1:42 p.m.