3 reasons why Russell Wilson-led Steelers won’t make it to the Super Bowl despite dream start to the season
Despite their phenomenal start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers should not be viewed as a Super Bowl-caliber team.
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Mike Tomlin and Russell Wilson (Image Credits: L-via IMAGO, R-via Imagn Images)
It is a good time to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team sits comfortably atop the AFC North with an 8-3 record this season. This season, they have beaten elite teams such as the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Commanders to solidify their position as a top dog in their division. Under the leadership of Mike Tomlin and Russell Wilson, the Steelers are in a great position to make it to the Super Bowl.
Well, at least that would be a notion under normal circumstances. However, the Steelers lost to the 3-8 Cleveland Browns in a TNF matchup that witnessed Russell Wilson throwing 1 touchdown and Jaylen Warren rushing for another score. The Steelers have had unexpected collapses to teams that have been terrible this season.
This season, Pittsburgh has lost to the Colts, the Cowboys, and the Browns. It is hard to believe this, but after one takes a closer look at their offense, things begin to make sense. Despite the Steelers’ regular-season success, this squad is not going to be in the Super Bowl, and there are three major reasons why.
Reason 1: The Steelers’ defense is miles ahead of the offense
Pittsburgh has gained the moniker of ‘Blitzburgh’ for a reason, the team’s dominance on the defensive side of the ball in the 1990s and under Mike Tomlin has been the gold standard in the NFL. This year, the Steelers are defensively stopping their opponents dead on their tracks. The team ranks 8th in the NFL in total defense and fourth in the NFL in terms of rushing defense.
The defense is allowing on average, 90.3 yards rushing per game. That is impressive and it is how they managed to edge past the Baltimore Ravens. However, the offense has not been impressive. Russell Wilson has been playing well but the team relies heavily on rushing rather than passing. The Steelers have been ranked 30th in the NFL in terms of Red Zone efficiency. The kicker Chris Boswell has been bailing them out when they go up against sound teams.
Mike Tomlin’s belief in Russell Wilson as the QB1 of this offense is fair but a dual-threat quarterback such as Justin Fields would make them more versatile as fans have seen in the first six weeks of the season. Pittsburgh is reliant on its defense and Chris Boswell, the offense has been inconsistent and that cannot be the case with a Super Bowl-caliber team. There have been precedents of teams with a dominant defense and average offense winning the Lombardi Trophy such as the 2001 Ravens and the 2016 Colts but it is unlikely that the Steelers would accomplish something similar to those teams.
Reason 2: The Steelers are yet to face the best teams in the AFC
Pittsburgh has beaten just one great team from the AFC, that is of course the Ravens. However, they are yet to face the most seasoned teams that have enjoyed a higher degree of success such as the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. Here’s where the team will falter, when one faces Buffalo or Kansas City, they best be ready to put points on the board.
The Steelers defense will show up without a shadow of a doubt but with quarterbacks such as Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, it is nearly impossible to keep them from scoring. In such games, a team cannot rely on its kicker to put up all the points, the offense will need to bear the brunt of scoring well. Pittsburgh had a narrow win over the Ravens and if they were to go up against them in the playoffs, there are not a lot of fans that can confidently state that the Russell Wilson-led squad would come out victorious yet again.
Reason 3: Mike Tomlin’s clock management skills
There should not be much debate on who should win the NFL’s Coach of the Year honors this season. Mike Tomlin has overachieved with this roster and he continues to justify the ‘big bucks’ that the team pays him. Remove Tomlin from the equation and the entire Steelers organization falls apart, without him, this team would probably rank last in the AFC North.
With that being said, Mike Tomlin’s clock management skills can prove to be detrimental to the team’s success at critical times. In Week 12’s loss to the Browns, Tomlin chose to accept a penalty with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter that pushed Cleveland’s offense back five yards and made it a third-down situation. By doing this, he threw a lifeline to the Browns who would otherwise be facing a fourth-and-1 situation.
Ultimately, this cost them and mistakes such as these in big games will prove to be costly. The Pittsburgh Steelers deserve credit where it’s due. Mike Tomlin is elite, Russell Wilson has made a comeback by proving that he can still play at a high level, and Justin Fields has regained his confidence in this environment. However, this is a playoff-worthy team but not a Super Bowl-worthy team.
Related: Antonio Brown, ex-Super Bowl champion, is ready to play for the Steelers for free this season
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Sumedh Joshi
(2235 Articles Published)