The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-3 entering Week 11 but far from juggernauts. They have a bottom-five offense, a bottom-five defense and their EPA per drive is ninth-worst in the NFL.
That has led some to question Pittsburgh’s legitimacy at 6-3, arguing that the Steelers are more of a lucky team than a good one. Their relatively easy strength of schedule through 10 weeks doesn’t help their case, although they did pick up an impressive 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.
For those Steelers critics who are anxiously awaiting a fall from grace, perhaps they should avoid holding their breath.
Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good, and the Steelers will continue to luck out in the coming weeks.
Due to season-ending injuries sustained by quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Joe Burrow and Anthony Richardson, the path ahead doesn’t appear too daunting from Mike Tomlin’s group.
The Steelers will close out the season with much more difficult games against the Geno Smith-led Seattle Seahawks and the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens, but they’ll have plenty of time to pad their record before that come comes. Even if they go 3-2 over the next five weeks, that will put them at 9-5 with two weeks remaining and give them a strong chance at making the playoffs.
More must-reads: