By: Jonathan Clark
SteelerNation.com
8-0, it sounds great right? It should, especially since we are the only fans that can say they are a fan of an undefeated NFL team this season as our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers have put eight straight wins together -- putting themselves in the driver's seat in the AFC North halfway through the year. Obviously this year has left a better taste in our mouths than all of last season did, but this is something historic for a franchise that has done just about it all in the NFL world. This 2020 roster has put themselves in the black and gold history books, being the first 8-0 team ever in the franchise's history, breaking the record they tied with the 1978 roster, with a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
It hasn’t all been pretty, there have been some close games. I will even go as far as to say that we have caught a few breaks here and there throughout the year, but that's what happens to good football teams -- and the Steelers are certainly one of them and have the record to back that up. In a post practice Zoom interview with the media on Wednesday, star defensive lineman, Cam Heyward was quoted as saying, “They hate us cuz they ain’t us”. He continued. "We don’t really care what’s going on outside of here. We’ve got to focus on us. If it doesn’t look pretty, who cares? We’re 8-0. It’s our job to keep stepping up week in and week out, and we hold ourselves to a higher standard than what everybody else thinks”.
That quote pretty much sums up the Pittsburgh Steelers season so far as a whole. They are 8-0 and do have every reason to be confident. The Steelers are rolling out on Sunday’s with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL who has stepped up week in and week out when asked, making huge plays that help control the game's momentum. They back that up with an offense led by QB Ben Roethlisberger, that's ranked #16 in the league, even after getting off to a shaky start to the season. This team seems to be clicking at the right time and it’s hard to not see this team going far and getting better with the play makers that we have.
Heyward is also right in saying it hasn't been pretty. The Steelers have won 5 of their 8 games by only 7 points or less, in games that the Steelers were heavily favored in and struggled last week to contain a rookie QB Garret Gilbert making his first NFL start with the Dallas Cowboys. Now yes, it is one game and I certainly have no reason whatsoever to panic. The NFL media has thrown Pittsburgh some shade about last week's performance. The Steelers dropped to #4 in ESPN NFL power rankings, even after being the only remaining 8-0 team in the league. We have victories against teams in the AFC playoff picture and have beaten them in their own stadium. It just still seems like this team hasn't done enough to persuade the haters who they are for real. But don't worry, we still have eight more weeks to prove them wrong.
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