Stop looking for a negative
The Steelers lost to the Cowboys last Sunday night (early Monday morning due to a weather delay) and then righted the ship this week with a win over the Vegas Raiders yesterday (10/13/2024). The Steelers were 1 stop on fourth down away from holding off Dallas and being 5-1. Nevertheless, they are now 4-2 and tied for first in the AFC North. Yesterday, in Vegas, they scored 32 points. They generated 3 turnovers and committed zero. They blocked a punt, played excellent defense after the first drive, ran the ball extremely effectively, and did not let up on the gas pedal through the end of the game. Steeler fans, it is ok to be happy!
Something interesting happened yesterday in relation to the Raiders game. Due to my oldest daughter’s fourth birthday party at which I was jumping in a trampoline park, I was not able to watch the game live. I then went to dinner with my wife and purposely did not check what happened with the Steelers. Then, I opened X and reviewed the initial post game reactions. One of the first tweets that I saw was “Extending Tomlin was the worst decision.” Another read, “It is time for Russel Wilson.” And yet another said “This team will never compete with the elite in the AFC or NFL.” I was nearly distraught and thought the Steelers lost. Then I saw the score. The Steelers won 32-13. Last night I used my NFL plus subscription to watch the full game replay. This game wasn’t even close for most of the final 16 minutes. This is the first game since 2017 that the Steelers scored more than 30 points on the road to win. Justin Fields contributed to 2 touchdowns, didn’t turn the football over, and on several occasions saved drives due his ability to avoid a good pass rush. I watched this game and now can safely ask the negative fans, “what game were you watching?” This was the Steelers most definitive victory of the season and it was truly a complimentary win. The defense, the offense, the special teams all played their role. Why is it necessary to find a negative about this game? Why is it that I saw such a huge amount of chatter related to the slow start, the passing yards, the first drive touchdown surrendered. Why?
Lastly, this conversation inevitably leads to a conversation this week about the quarterback position. I am going to frame this in two ways, one a hypothetical and one a reality. First the hypothetical: If the Steeler’s back up was Mason Rudolph, or say any other team’s backup, would there be any question as to who starts this week? I do think that Russell Wilson has some good ball left in him; however, do I think he is sitting over there on some tremendous upside compared to what we have on the field now? No. Now the reality: Justin Fields is scoring touchdowns and winning games. He is not losing games and he is not the reason we have two lost. While Justin Fields is winning, and not losing games, he has to remain the starter. There should be (and I suspect won’t be) no discussion about the starter this week against the Jets. Justin Fields will remain, and should remain, the starter until the Steelers start losing and Fields becomes a reason that is happening.
In the meantime, Steeler fans, be happy in the win and stop trying to find a negative to associate with this team.