The Steelers come in at 5-3 as a flawed team with plenty to work out. Yet, they hold the 5th seed in the playoff picture and boast one of the more accessible strengths of schedules in the AFC throughout the rest of the season. But some pundits are not buying into the hype that Pittsburgh will keep the train rolling.
Talking on Get Up on ESPN, Mike Greenberg has watched the Steelers all season, and not only does he think they have flaws that could hold them back from a playoff run, he believes they might be the worst team in the NFL. Yes, that is not an exaggeration. Greenberg said that Pittsburgh might be the worst group in the entire league. He praises Mike Tomlin’s ability to get the most out of the team.
“You want to talk about maximizing their ability, they’ve done everything they can with what they have,” Greenberg said. “They might be the worst team in the NFL, and they’re 5-3. Mike Tomlin is giving me everything he possibly could.”
According to Tankathon, the Steelers have the easiest remaining schedule of the AFC North teams, with a strength of schedule of .487 of their remaining opponents. In addition to their AFC North rivals, the Steelers play just one winning team the rest of the way in the Seattle Seahawks.
The group continues to make schematic changes and overhauls to get the stagnant offense rolling. Matt Canada went to the sideline, Broderick Jones joined the starting lineup, and they even activated more pulling guards against the Titans. All of those changes are signs this team wants things to get better. Hey, they might not even be that far off if some of the positive signs continue to emerge.
I have a hard time buying that they are the worst team in the NFL. Pittsburgh has too much talent for that. There is a national campaign that this group lacks talent, but they have enough to win games with, even if there are gaping holes in certain parts of this roster. We will see where this takes them, but if they can not improve, at some point, the stats and history will likely catch up with them.