NFL: How Are The Steelers Doing So Well?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have now just rolled off two very impressive wins, at opposing teams stadiums. Those two teams were the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Playing at New York is possibly one of the toughest crowds to play at, and Jacksonville’s crowd isn’t easy to play in either. And if you look at Pittsburgh’s three losses, they should have won two of those.

The game they lost to Cleveland was a fluke and they should have at least went into overtime if it wasn’t for Kent Graham. Against Tennessee they had the game won, and if it wasn’t for Steve McNair coming in for Neil O’Donnell in the last minute and a half they would have won. O’Donnell was getting absolutely nothing done on that last drive, and it was good for the Titans that he got hurt. So really Pittsburgh could easily be 4-1, and a top the AFC Central. It is amazing they’re even 2-3 with the players they have on this team. How are the Steelers doing so well?

The first big reason is that they’ve had an excellent rushing attack. It looked as if Jerome Bettis’s career was all but over, but since he has been healthy he has ran very well. Jacksonville and the New York Jets are probably in the top five for stopping the run, but Bettis has had 100 yard games against both of them. And probably the biggest kept secret and one of the biggest players on this team is Chris Fuamatu-Ma’Afala. Each and every week he seems to have a good week even in his limited action and role.

Another big key has been the play of the offensive line, especially Dermontti Dawson. Dawson almost retired before the season, but decided to give it another try and has been excellent. He has been a great model for the other offensive lineman on this team, and really has this unit coming together.

The Steelers defense has been phenomenal as well this year. Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington are having great years, and Pittsburgh is getting great play from their young defensive players. It is starting to turn into yet another Pittsburgh defense with no name players that end up becoming great. Joey Porter, Scott Shields, and Mike Vrabel have all played big roles, and all have played great. This unit has really started to come together and is a big reason why the Steelers have been in all of their games this year.

Kordell Stewart’s play has to be the number one reason why the Steelers have started to become successful. It looked like Stewart’s career was all but over after watching him in preseason. He was horrible, and was so horrible that Kent Graham earned his job. But then Stewart got his chance back two weeks ago, and it looks like he finally has the job secured for the rest of the year. He may not look like the same quarterback from 1997, but he is doing the things that he knows he can do. He isn’t forcing the football anymore, instead he is taking off as a running back and using his slash skills to the best of his ability.

As long as Jerome Bettis stays healthy and runs like he has been, then this team will be a team that you don’t want to play. The Steelers are no where near a playoff team, but they can beat you if you don’t come to play on a given week. When you look at the AFC there are going to be a lot of teams battling it out in the last few weeks of the year to get into the playoffs. Don’t be surprised to see the Steelers play a key role and knock off a few potential playoff teams and play spoiler.