The Steelers, at 7-4, have positioned themselves to make it to the playoffs. If they qualify, who knows what will happen?
The narrative has shifted from the Steelers being a quick and easy out in the wild-card round to Pittsburgh being a problem, thanks to a strong defense and an offense that has been leaning more and more on the running game.
“We have a recipe that can work,” Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward told PFT after the team’s Week 12 win at Cincinnati. “We don’t know how we’re gonna get in there, but we’ve got to get in there. Once you get in the playoffs, all bets are off.”
And the Steelers could be on, thanks to the running game becoming a strong complement to one of the best defenses in football.
“You can’t hide from that offensive line what they’re doing as a run game, between Najee [Harris] and Jaylen [Warren], I think it’s becoming a very strong run game. and I just think we’re going on offense,” Heyward said.
While there’s plenty more work to be done, the AFC is packed together pretty tightly. Someone will emerge down the stretch, building momentum that can be carried into the playoffs.
For the Steelers, momentum coming both from that defense and a strong running game could propel them beyond the wild-card round — and maybe even farther than that.
In January, defense travels. Running game travels. Wind, cold, whatever. The worse the weather, the more the Steelers will thrive.
