It’s week 6 in the NFL and the Steelers have a bye. Coming into a break and being 4-1 is fantastic for the Steelers who need the extra time for Hines Ward and Troy Polomalu to recover. We are playing very well on both sides of the ball at the moment and getting Ward and Polomalu back will make us much better.
Let’s take a look at the AFC’s picture at this point in the season. The Steelers are best friends in the North at 4-1 and are 2-0 in the conference, which is huge. NFL teams have to win their conference games. Baltimore is hot on our heels at 3-2 and 1-2 in the conference. Cleveland is 2-3 and the Bengals are 1-3.
New England sits atop the AFC East at 5-0 and they look tough again this year. I figured if the Patriots had been caught cheating, they would have spoiled their win. The Colts are first in the AFC South with a 5-0 record as are the Patriots. I think the Colts look weaker than the Patriots and I expect them to lose a game to the Patriots.
The AFC West is comical with the Raiders on top at 2-2 and every other team tied for second at 2-3. I really think the Patriots, Colts and Steelers are the only heavyweights in the AFC this year. I know that things can change on the fly and a team like Tennessee could emerge as a contender in the coming weeks. As a Steeler fan, I don’t care about the NFC rankings because it doesn’t affect us.
The Week 6 game that’s important to the Steelers is the Patriots-Cowboys game on Sunday afternoon. We want the Cowboys (whom we despise) to take out the Pats so we can be with them in the overall AFC standings. I’m always thinking about the playoffs and a first-round bye at the end of the season. The Cowboys – Pats game should be wild and I’ll be tuning in to watch it. Lucky for me I have the NFL package and get every NFL game every week delivered to my house! That way, I never miss a Steeler game and I get to watch all the big matchups like the Cowboys-Pats game on Sunday.
The Steelers have the No. 1 defense in the NFL, giving up 9.4 points per game. The Defense is giving up 72 rushing yards per game and 163 receiving yards per game. These stats tell me that we have a damn stingy defense right now and we need to maintain this level from here on out! The Steelers’ offense stats aren’t as impressive as their defense, but they are solid.
We are the sixth ranked offense averaging 26.4 points per game. The stat that amazes me is that we are averaging 167 rushing yards per game! The only team that has more rushing yards per game is the Oakland Raiders with 194 yards per game. We only average 184 passing yards per game, but when you run the ball effectively, you don’t have to throw a lot.
The stats show that the Steelers are playing tough defense and the offense is hitting the ball with an effective running game. Our running game keeps opposing teams’ defenses on the field for long periods of time and our swarm defense keeps opponents to very few points.
I know it’s early in the season, my fellow Steeler fans, but you must be excited about what we’ve done so far. It looks like Mike Tomlin is the real deal and the players are motivated and well coached and the game plans are solid. I still miss seeing Cowher’s jaw on the sidelines, but Tomlin and his winning ways are growing on me.
Let’s pray to the football gods that the Pats get whipped by the Cowboys and the Colts have a lousy bye week!
