Yeah, there were some big mistakes by the Steelers today: a kick return coverage unit that let Josh Cribbs return one for a TD and then pooched the ball and gave Cleveland great field position the rest of the way; Willie Parker’s disastrous return; and an offense that struggled on third down.
But all that aside, this was as close to a dominating performance that the Steelers have shown so far this season. Ben Roethlisberger threw for over 400 yards and the offense was very productive all day. The defense pitched a shutout in the 4th quarter and only allowed the Browns one scoring drive all game.
After struggling early in the season, the Steelers now sit at 4-2, tied for the AFC North lead. The teeth of the schedule is ahead with the Vikings, Ravens, Broncos, and Bengals ahead. Kansas City is the only game where the Steelers are a lock to be favorites in the next five. That’s a scary thought and the Steelers “best” win so far has been against San Diego.
With Polamalu (hopefully) in full health next week and a running game slowly coming around, the Steelers will need all the pieces to click starting next week if they want to stay in the divisional race.
Today was a good start to getting everybody operating at full speed and hopefully the trend continues.
