Ryan Clark: 'We're about to find out' who the Steelers are with a difficult second-half schedule

The Pittsburgh Steelers enter their bye week at 6-2. Overall, it's a great touch and what many saw as the best-case scenario for the Steelers. While they have a one-game lead in the AFC North, they still have all of their division games left. And they also have three tough non-division games left, so the work is just beginning, says former Steelers safety Ryan Clark. It's time to learn more about this team.

“None of us know yet, but we're about to find out” who the Steelers are, Clark told Scott Van Pelt on ESPN after their 26-18 win over the New York Giants on Monday night. “We’re about to find out when you play a very good Washington Commanders team and then get added to your AFC North schedule.

“This team is doing much better today than I would have thought at the beginning of the season. The running game has picked up speed. You are now explosive in the passing game and your defense turns the ball over. But we’re going to find out a lot about this team coming out of the game, and I think Mike Tomlin is going to preach that.”

Of course, this plot is anything but new. It's the story that has defined the Steelers' season since the NFL released the 2024 schedule, with a clear focus on the back half. Even if the AFC North doesn't look as tough as it could have been early on, the Steelers will still face stiff competition.

The Steelers not only play twice against the Browns, Ravens and Bengals, but also against the Commanders, Eagles and Chiefs. Washington, in particular, is looking much better than anyone imagined with rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Although the Chiefs don't always look great on screen, they are undefeated. And the Eagles appear to be having some quiet success with a 5-2 team.

Philadelphia actually did the Steelers a favor by dealing a blow to an up-and-coming Bengals team on Sunday. After winning three of their last four games and looking like they're “back,” Cincinnati is now 3-5, a full three games behind the division-leading Steelers.

And the Browns are even further behind at 2-6, although, as Ryan Clark warned, they may be more threatening now. With QB Deshaun Watson on IR and Jameis Winston under center, they provide more dynamic play – both positive and negative. However, they narrowly beat the Ravens, which also helps the Steelers significantly.

So we know what the second half of the schedule looks like and that will certainly be an issue. But what have the Steelers done over the last eight weeks to put their 6-2 record into context? Well, first of all, after beating the Giants 2-6, they still have a winning percentage of .426. That puts him 13th in the NFL, slightly above average.

However, the strength of the Steelers' schedule through the first eight weeks is also .435, ranking in the bottom 10 in the NFL. They just beat two teams that are now 2-6 in consecutive weeks, the Jets and Giants. They lost to the Colts and Cowboys, who each suffered four losses. At 5-3, the Broncos are a better team than they were when they played Pittsburgh. The same goes for the 5-3 Falcons.

Although one can say that the Steelers will not have such breaks in the second half, the exact nature of the games can never be predicted. For example, how often have the Steelers faced backup quarterbacks in recent years? You can watch recordings, but you have to watch each game as it is being played to really appreciate the difficulty level. On paper, however, Ryan Clark is right. In these final nine games, we will learn who the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers really are.