Steelers Remain Undefeated
Pittsburgh has seven straight wins heading into NFL’s Week 8
We are two months into the National Football League (NFL) season, and only one team remains unbeaten: the 7-0 Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We’re legit, and we’re coming out with our A-game every single time,” Steelers’ tight end Eric Ebron emphasized. “That’s the players we have in this locker room. That’s the kind of team we have. That’s the kind of coaching staff we have, and we’re just going to come out here and continue to bring our A-game.”
The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday, and numerous teams made moves. There were the usual “buyers” acquiring talent and trying to boost their team’s 2020 Super Bowl chances, while other teams were “sellers”, trading expiring assets with a vision towards the future.
A seven-game win streak to start the season indicated to Pittsburgh’s front office that this roster is here to contend, as the Steelers were able to add externally at the deadline by trading for New York Jets’ linebacker Avery Williamson.
Marc Sessler of nfl.com tagged the Steelers as “clear-as-day Super Bowl Material.”
Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers’ season is perfect so far, but it is far from over. Even with seven straight wins and a 99% playoff probability, Pittsburgh still has the chance to create history: win another game Sunday against the struggling Dallas Cowboys.
The Steelers have never started a season 8-0 in franchise history.
The lone time that the Steelers started a season with seven consecutive victories was in 1978. The team the Steelers lost to in Week 8? The Houston Oilers.
Pittsburgh is aware of their favoring circumstances as they prepare for a different Texas team in Week 8. In the previous two weeks, Pittsburgh has gone into Tennessee and Baltimore to face off against fellow American Football Conference (AFC) juggernauts. Both times, the Steelers came out victorious. Defeating the previously 5-0 Titans and the reigning NFL MVP in Baltimore last weekend required the team’s top-form. The Steelers know they cannot play down to the Cowboys’ level this Sunday.
Former Steeler and Hall of Fame member Joe Greene currently resides outside Dallas, and he knows how tough it will be for the Steelers to continue their winning ways.
“This game coming up is a trap game,” said Greene. “[The Cowboys] have won two ballgames and they’re struggling right now, so there’s a tendency if you’re not a real pro to let up a bit. You don’t consciously do it, it just happened mentally.”
Due to a rash of injuries, Dallas is forced to dig deep into their depth chart. Last week, third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci got the start in an eventual loss versus the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys are considering activating quarterback Cooper Rush off of their practice squad to start this week.
Greene is known as one of the best Steelers, if not one of the best NFL defensive players, of all time. He won four Super Bowl rings in the 1970s and is well-aware that the best teams cannot take any week off in the NFL. Ahead of a historic matchup, Greene urged the Steelers to keep the foot on the gas pedal. Taking an opponent lightly in a 16-game season can result in negative repercussions.
“You can’t think like that. I mean you have to go in thinking they’re going to be every bit as good as the Ravens,” Greene said. “And if they show up, we’ll kill them.”
In three of the past five seasons, the last remaining undefeated team has gone on to win the Super Bowl. The Steelers have already done this, but how many wins they finish depends on their future success.
Pittsburgh’s opponents the next three weeks will entail the Cowboys (2-6), Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1), and Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6). Can they run the table? No team has gone unbeaten in the regular season since the 2007 New England Patriots.
This Steelers team is talented and obviously focused on a Super Bowl ring. Nonetheless, they know the value of a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Every week, this team looks more like a Lombardi Trophy favorite.