Former Steelers OC Bruce Arians Gives Hopeful Comments On Pittsburgh's Recent Surge

The Pittsburgh Steelers took care of business on Monday night, defeating the Miami Dolphins by a score of 28-15. They put together one of their most dominant and complete games of the entire regular season yet. The offense was efficient and had big plays when needed, and the defense was able to take away passing lanes and apply the right amount of pressure to make Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa uncomfortable in the pocket all night. Tagovailoa threw an interception early on in the game, which set the tone for how the defense would continue to dominate up front and in the secondary all night long.

The timing could not be better for the Steelers to have these kinds of dominant performances, as the regular season is drawing to a close in only three weeks. The team still has many tough challenges ahead. These challenges begin this Sunday with a pivotal matchup against the Detroit Lions that the Steelers absolutely need to win if they want to maintain a strong grip on the AFC North. 

Games such as these and wins such as the ones the Steelers had against the Dolphins and the previous week against the Baltimore Ravens are the best wins to have late, as these serve to build momentum and push a team into the playoffs on a hot streak. 

Former Steelers Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians recently appeared as a guest on an episode of The Pat McAfee Show and gave his opinion on just how much it means to have momentum going into the playoffs. Arians was asked about how much it would mean to have rest or not in the final week of the regular season, and his answer sheds light on a situation the Steelers could find themselves in.

"Yeah, I think that was huge for us," Arians said. "We had to win the last four, and we were down 17 to nothing at half at the Falcons and scored 31 the second half, and that propelled us the rest of the way -- so there was never any rest. I've been on the, 'Hey, let's sit 'em this week,' and one year, we sat everybody, and the team had to win to get in, and we went and beat them with our guys. I'm not gonna name the team, but getting hot at the right time is possible. Healthy and hot."

What Arians is likely referring to in his answer was the 2020 season when he coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team was 7-5 entering their bye week, and did not lose another game all the way to the Super Bowl. Their pivotal win streak started late in the regular season, similar to what the Steelers have put together with their past two wins, and could potentially be a sign of things to come for Pittsburgh.

For the Steelers to replicate the win streak the 2020 Buccaneers had, they'll need to win this week against the Lions, then win the following week against the Cleveland Browns to match the four games won. Winning those two games would also essentially lock up the AFC North, and if the Steelers can secure a home playoff game, then the claims of this team being "dangerous" gain a whole different meaning with extra momentum.

Should the Steelers gain that crucial momentum, as Arians referred to in his comments, one thing must happen.

Steelers Have To Continue Protecting Aaron Rodgers Well

The most crucial part of the Steelers current win streak has been how well they've protected quarterback Aaron Rodgers. If they want the momentum to continue and to continue winning games, the Steelers must find consistent ways to protect him as they've been successful with so far.

Keeping Rodgers healthy and in a clean pocket will be a surefire way to keep the hot stretch going, as Rodgers' best game of the season arguably came against the Dolphins.

What did you think about Arians' comments regarding positive momentum? Let us know in the comments below.

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