Pittsburgh Steelers might be overrated despite a 6-2 record

Two questions were at the forefront Monday night as the Steelers beat the Giants for their sixth win of the season.

1) How bad are the Jets?
2) Are the Steelers good?

The Steelers enter the bye week with the lead in the AFC North, a division race that is far from over.

Pittsburgh went 2-0 with Russell Wilson in the starting lineup, and he's the backup on a Steelers team led by defense. The 2024 version only allowed more than 20 points once in a 27-24 loss to the Colts. Wilson threw a nice, deep ball down the left sideline to George Pickens and otherwise played like the 35-year-old the Broncos were desperate to sack.

The Steelers found success on their last two drives against the Giants, who can at least say they were more physical than the other New York team. Wilson debuted as a starter last week and defeated the Jets 37-15.

Not that anyone thinks the first eight games of this Pittsburgh schedule have been much of a test. The wins in Atlanta and Denver look a little better than initial quality assessments might have expected, but losing to the Colts and Cowboys – both by three points – in consecutive weeks was a bad impression.

Mike Tomlin isn't thrilled with what was accomplished in October.

Rewind a few years. Pittsburgh started November with a surprising 7-0 record. Tomlin had some good things to say, but he didn't throw bouquets to Ben Roethlisberger or a defense that posted 56 sacks this season because of the sledgehammer schedule coming in December.

“Good today,” Tomlin said between wins in Baltimore and Dallas. “But it doesn’t mean anything for tomorrow.”

Tomlin wasn't wrong. The Steelers lost four of the final five games of the regular season and gave up 48 points to Cleveland in an 11-point wild-card home loss.

Just when we were wondering if this Steelers team could take a beating and fight above their weight class, we got a hint of an answer. Wilson put the ball on the floor Monday night with an eight-point lead with 4:30 left.

A few plays later, TJ Watt wrapped his arms around Daniel Jones, ripped the ball away, and the Steelers were back on the field with less than three minutes to play.

These Steelers can pull off the scrappy win over the Giants and get some rest, knowing the road ahead is lined with heavyweights who won't miss when they have a team cornered.

After taking the next week off, Pittsburgh returns in Week 10 with a game against the Washington Commanders (6-2) before coming home for its first game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens (5-3).

When the Ravens stumbled in Cleveland on Sunday, they showed a mortality that went unnoticed during a four-game winning streak. That run propelled Baltimore to the top of the AFC North.

The season-ending gauntlet that awaits Pittsburgh in December is the stretch that matters more than the first two months of the season.

This icy proving ground features trips to Philadelphia (December 15), Baltimore (December 21) and a Christmas Day date with the Kansas City Chiefs, packed into an unprecedented 10-day Sunday-Saturday-Wednesday stretch that will be crucial if the Steelers are still standing when the AFC playoff spots are announced.

Week 18 is a home game against the Bengals. Cincinnati has won two of the last three meetings in Pittsburgh.

All six AFC North contests await Tomlin and the Steelers at the other end of the bye week. The schedule is tightening and another 10-win season could become a reality.

Getting 10 wins or simply returning to the playoffs — Pittsburgh lost 31-17 in Buffalo in January — isn't the ideal goal Tomlin is seeking.

He also lost in the 2020 and 2017 postseason (45-42 to the Jacksonville Jaguars), having last won a playoff game at the end of the 2016 season, defeating the Dolphins and Chiefs before losing to the Patriots 36: 17 lost.

As we approach the halfway point of the 2024 season, the Steelers' biggest tests are just around the corner.