By HUNTER O. LYLE
Throughout Sunday morning, as I walked the aisles of my hometown grocery store collecting the provisions for the NFL’s opening day, worry and doubt clouded my Gold and Black draped mind. Come Sunday evening, however, I was pleasantly optimistic that the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn’t be bottom feeders this season.
Would we have a chance at making a long run into the playoffs? No, but I’ll take what I can get.
Starting with the 41-year-old elephant in the room, when Aaron Rodgers joined the roster I was not elated. As a former Packers fan, it felt like an ex-girlfriend was sending me late-night texts, an ex that had been known to fall off the wagon and say some head-shaking things in recent years. It was a two-fold disappointment in seeing Justin Fields walk and also hearing that the Steelers was Rodgers’ last option – you don’t get a lot of confidence from the hinge on which your offense swings saying, “it was here or not play,” as he was quoted shortly after signing a one-year deal with Pittsburgh.
But in Week One, Rodgers admittedly changed my mind. The flashes to his formidable years in Green Bay were often and he proved he still has remnants of his at-one-point MVP quality arm strength and quick trigger. Throwing for 244 yards and four touchdowns, the most of any quarterback through the opening week of the season, shows he has gas still left in the tank. It also shows that the Steelers aren’t afraid to cater their typically run-heavy offense in a new direction.
Staying on that side of the line of scrimmage, both DK Metcalf, who also joined Pittsburgh in the offseason, and Jaylen Warren, who signed a two-year extension on Monday, Sept. 1, both seem to be worthy investments. Despite only getting four receptions, Metcalf came away with 83 yards, also becoming a distracting presence for the defense’s eye, while Warren continued to battle for bruising, smash-mouth short gains, finishing with 37 rushing yards on 11 touches.
Add in a combination of new and old faces like Calvin Austin III, Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth (“Muuuuuth”) and Kenneth Gainwell, and the Steelers seem to have a potentially multi-faceted offense, albeit, the only sample came via the Jets.
What doesn’t thrill me about the offense is the line, which gave up four sacks, tied for third-worst through Week One. If it hadn’t been for Rodgers’ quick release, that number could have easily topped the league and is a definite priority when the schedule gets tougher in the weeks to come.
Another disappointment was the defense. Given that tough-nose defense is historically the Steelers’ bread and butter, as well as they’re the highest paid lineup across the NFL, I would have expected more than the inconsistent showing I saw on Sunday afternoon.
At times and usually up front, Pittsburgh looked badass as usual, led by TJ Watt, who just signed a massive three-year, $123 million contract extension in July. However, the secondary looked lost for the majority of the game, allowing 212 passing yards and 32 points in a game that had an over/under of 37.5.
Noting that they lost DeShon Elliot to a knee injury early on and Cam Heyward not long after, as well as several losses this offseason, the Steelers’ shaky defense might be the biggest red flag from the first taste of action.
The way I see it, Pittsburgh has about two weeks to really tighten the screws before the road starts getting bumpy. Up next, they play the Seahawks (0-1) and the Patriots (0-1) before seeing the Vikings (0-0), Bengals (1-0) and Packers (1-0) all within a four-week window. If they can get a handle on the throttle early, they might fare half decently in late November and early December, when they face the Bills and Ravens – who just showcased the Game of the Week on Sunday night – in back-to-back contests.
