Double Standard: The 'Worst 11-0' Steelers Wouldn't Be This Criticized if They Weren't Perfect
There's no two ways around it. The Pittsburgh Steelers were pretty terrible on Wednesday afternoon.
The list of inadequacies is rather lengthy. Just to name a few, Ben Roethlisberger was hit and miss with his accuracy, the offensive line failed to create running lanes for Benny Snell, and the defense was subpar in stopping Baltimore's running attack (sans Lamar Jackson).
When Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the numerous dropped passes and red zone failures, he perfectly summed it all up:
"Us sucking."
Tomlin was very blunt about his frustration with his team's performance against a Ravens team that was decimated by COVID-19, using terms like "junior varsity" and said there wasn't "a lot to be proud of."
Not only should they have lost the game, but now the football world is crucifying them on social media. Throughout Wednesday evening, the phrase "Worst 11-0" was trending on Twitter.
The hate for the undefeated Steelers hasn't stopped throughout Thursday or Friday either.
Colin Cowherd, the host of The Herd on FS1, was very critical after the Steelers edged the Ravens, claiming Pittsburgh is not a Super Bowl team. He even threatened to drop them to No. 7 on his weekly Herd Hierarchy—his own subjective top-10 NFL rankings, where he considers his top-four to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
There's a lot to unpack here. It's not all a farce, but a lot of it is just based on misinformation that's missing a lot of context (not to mention very repetitve).
"Tennessee is better today. Yeah, they are. I know you beat them, but now Bud Dupree—out for the year with an injury. So, Devin Bush and Bud Dupree in your front seven are both out. You're not stopping King [Derrick] Henry."
When the Steelers beat Tennessee, they held Derrick Henry to 75 yards on 20 carries (3.8 yards-per-carry). Devin Bush was not present. He was lost for the year in a week six rout of the Cleveland Browns. Let's not pretend the Steelers haven't been playing without him.
In addition, when the Steelers have faced any team not named the Baltimore Ravens, they've shut down the running game. Baltimore gashed Pittsburgh on the ground with a total of 394 yards in both games with their complex run game built around the read option.
How have the Steelers fared in their other nine contests? They've clamped down on their opponents, only allowing 85.4 rushing yards per game.
Just like Colin Cowherd has given Kansas City a pass (multiple times) with their division rival Oakland Raiders, chalking it up as a bad matchup for the Chiefs, the Steelers ought to get a pass for any matchup with their bitter rivals. It's clear the Steelers' defense struggles with the Ravens' running schemes. Not to mention, very few coaches know each other as well as Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh.
"You can't run the ball. How do you take the ball away from Patrick Mahomes? Run the ball. You can't. You had to throw 51 times last night to beat COVID-19-ravaged Baltimore."
The Steelers are second in the NFL in time of possession, all while throwing the ball 61 percent of the time. You don't have to run the ball to possess it. Not in today's NFL. Sure, running the ball aids in that endeavor. But to say the Steelers can't keep the ball away from Patrick Mahomes because of an inadequate running game is simply false.
The other side of that coin is the structure of the Steelers' offense. The vast majority of the passing game is built on short throws. It gets the ball out quickly and protects the football. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Big Ben's 2.28 seconds is the quickest time to throw in the NFL. Ben is also tied for seventh in the NFL in interception percentage (1.4 percent). So, Ben isn't getting sacked and he isn't turning the ball over. Both are wonderful positives.
In addition, the dink-and-dunk passing attack acts as an extension of the running game. It's certainly not the most efficient way to throw the ball. Ben Roethlisberger's 6.5 yards-per-attempt is 28th in the NFL. However, it keeps the Steelers in possession of the football. Pittsburgh is seventh in the NFL in total plays per game (66.4) and is sixth in third down conversion (45.96 percent). A high number of plays and a good third down percentage wears down the opposing defense. It's not a coincidence that the Steelers' offense performs much better in the second half.
And finally, let's not pretend the Ravens game was anything close to normal. Neither team was fully prepared for this game. The matchup was thrice postponed with neither team getting adequate time to practice. If you watched the game, you could easily tell.
"You've had the second-easiest schedule in the NFL. You've faced four backup quarterbacks."
Colin then went on to dumb down each game on the Steelers' schedule.
Again, let's compare the Steelers to the almighty Chiefs. The Steelers' opponents' combined record thus far is 49-70-2. The Chiefs? 53-70.
Sure, Pittsburgh's schedule has been easier. But not by much.
How about the point differential thus far on the season? Pittsburgh's is +129. Kansas City's? +110.
Pittsburgh's mark is the best in the NFL.
For the remaining schedule, the Steelers have a tougher road ahead than the Chiefs. The Steelers' upcoming opponents have a combined record of 29-25-1 while the Chiefs' upcoming opponents are 27-28.
As far as the Chiefs go, they're the darling of the NFL media. I totally get it. Patrick Mahomes is so much fun to watch. We are watching an all-time great in the making every week. I do not want to take anything away from him. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league right now. No doubt about it.
But let's be fair. Just like the Steelers have had some imperfect games, the Chiefs haven't been as invincible as they're made out to be, despite having better weapons on offense.
The Chiefs needed overtime to pull out a win over the Chargers in Justin Herbert's debut. They gave up 40 points on their own field in a loss to the Raiders. They narrowly beat a rebuilding and injured Carolina Panthers team by two points at Arrowhead Stadium. They needed a game-winning drive from Mahomes to avoid a season sweep from the Raiders.
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At the end of the day, the Chiefs are 10-1. Whether they blew out the Broncos or the Jets or narrowly beat the Chargers or Raiders, they are 10-1.
The same goes for the Steelers. They are 11-0. Undefeated. Not every win has been pretty. Some of them have been. Some of them haven't. And their defense is still dangerous, even with the losses of Devin Bush and Bud Dupree.
It also seems like a clash between the Steelers and Chiefs in the playoffs is all but inevitable. Patrick Mahomes and his high-powered offense against arguably the best defense in the league - the game we should all want to see in the AFC Championship.
All of the criticism toward the Steelers boils down to one thing: their record. When a team is undefeated, everyone wants to put them under the microscope and find every little flaw. After all, only one team has gone undefeated since the NFL expanded the regular season to 16 games (2007 New England Patriots).
If the Steelers were to pull off the second 16-0 season in the history of the league, it would put them in near-exclusive company. If they were to do it in a season where they did not have a traditional bye week, where they didn't have a real home field advantage, and where they had two of their games postponed (one of which three times), that would be an accomplishment in and of itself; not comparable to the 2007 Patriots.
As Mike Tomlin has previously stated, the Steelers are not a perfect team. Only their record is perfect. They need to get better at running the football. They need to have some depth guys take on the "next man up” mentality.
But let's be fair. An 11-0 team is a Super Bowl contender. It's not an argument.
Chris Halicke is a columnist with AllSteelers. Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHalicke, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
