Sports News

Featuring Dawgs By Nature’s Chris Pokorny

The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) are coming off an emotional victory over the Baltimore Ravens that gaven them sole possession of first place in the division. This week, they will have to play on short rest against the Cleveland Browns (2-8) on Thursday Night Football. I spoke with Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature to get a better idea of what to expect in this week’s matchup.

You can read my questions and his answers below:

1. The season hasn’t gone how Browns fans would have wanted. From the outside looking in, the team seems too talented for their 2-8 record. What’s been the biggest reason for the way this season has gone? Is it all on the quarterback play? Injuries? The staff?

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Initially, I think a lot of it was on the quarterback play. Deshaun Watson’s play was so uninspiring, so limiting, that it got to the point where I think it was just tough for anyone to believe the team could win. It’s insane that in all the games Watson played this season, the Browns didn’t score 20 points once, and he didn’t throw for over 200 yards passing once. And yet, as soon as Jameis Winston plays, he’s thrown for 300+ yards in two of his three games, and not having much of an issue putting at least some drives together.

Unfortunately, the Browns are still 1-2 without Watson, and I think that is where the disappointment of the defense shines brighter. So I don’t spoil one of your later questions, I’ll address the defense in a bit.

As far as coaching goes, I think the team was also hurt by hiring Ken Dorsey as their offensive coordinator. He was hired to try to put together an offense that was more fit for Watson, despite it going against the strengths of the rest of the personnel on offense. It just didn’t work, and the team has had a lot of special teams lapses too, aside from the punter. Now it’s frustrating because there’s still a lot of season left, but we have nothing to look forward to and now all of the big salary cap numbers look dreadful heading into 2025.

2. What’s been the biggest change on offense since the change at quarterback?

Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images

The offense has looked potent in two of three games since Jameis Winston became the quarterback. To a degree, it’s tough to judge because he’s succeeded against two bad defenses (Baltimore and New Orleans), but struggled by throwing three interceptions against a Chargers defense that allows the fewest points in the NFL. He just has the presence of an NFL-caliber quarterback. That might sound so basic, but the reason I phrase it light that is to show just how far Watson had fallen in terms of productivity.

Watson was so slow with his dropback and decision-making, didn’t anticipate throws, and didn’t have a feel for the pocket, but was really too slow to escape rushes. Winston is giving these wide receivers a chance to shine, which has probably become the best unit on the team to watch over the past three weeks despite having traded Amari Cooper away. I think the receivers were getting open before (with Watson), but now they’re actually getting the ball on timed routes, and also being able to have some yards after the catch too since Winston isn’t staring everything down like Watson was.

3. Second-year receiver Cedric Tillman has been having a breakout performance over the past month. The Steelers didn’t see him much during his rookie season. What can you tell us about the young wideout?

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Cedric Tillman was not utilized much in his first six games this season, catching 3 passes for 9 yards. After Amari Cooper was traded, in his last four games, Tillman has 35 catches for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has benefited both from Watson being gone, and now being a starter, finally getting a chance to shine after being behind three higher-paid receivers previously.

If this season is a wash, then the development of Tillman is one of the things we hope can continue blossoming in these final seven games. I wouldn’t say he is doing anything exceptional yet per se, but you can see the hunger, confidence, and route running ability on display when he’s getting 8+ targets a game instead of spinning his wheels hoping that the ball comes his way once. Tillman has been able to shine more, but the same has been true for more established receivers in Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore, which again points back to the change in quarterback.

4. The defense is still able to pressure the quarterback at a high rate, but the Browns have regressed in other areas from last year’s elite unit. Can you give us the state of Cleveand’s defense at this point in the season?

I think it’s a combination of things. First, last year in these Q&A’s, I kept telling opposing blogs that teams that utilize misdirection, end arounds, or find ways to take advantage of the Browns’ aggressiveness on defense can make them look nothing like a top defense in the league. I feel one of the top reasons the Browns’ defense ranked so well last year was because they played so aggressive in every facet that teams were just shocked by it and didn’t know what to do. Before they knew it, they were sacked, or turning the ball over. It struck fear in them.

Then, smart offensive coordinators used that aggressiveness against them, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t adjust: he still wants Cleveland to attack, attack, attack. What we’ve found is that against teams like Jacksonville and Cincinnati, which are too stubborn to adjust and just have their quarterback drop back against this defense, the Browns’ defense looks like it can still thrive. Other teams know the blueprint and take advantage of it.

And then, against other offenses that are bad, Cleveland has had issues this year in which they dominate on 90% of the snaps, but those other 10% of the snaps, they have a big communication issue that leads to an easy touchdown. By the end of the game, we’re thinking, “We should have owned that team, but those three lapses led to three big touchdown plays out of no where.” And they haven’t been able to fix it. Frustrating.

5. Fan Duel has the Steelers as 4.5-point road favorites. Any fan of a team in this division knows the sportsbooks are no match for the chaos that is AFC North Football™, but what’s your best guess at how this game goes?

That’s right about AFC North football — anything goes; just look at the Browns upsetting the Ravens a couple of weeks ago. I am taking the Steelers to win this game, though.

Pittsburgh has found a good formula, and if they saw Taysom Hill run for three touchdowns in the Wildcat on Sunday, then they’d probably love to try the same with an even faster Justin Fields on some plays. I can’t imagine Cleveland’s defense corrects that issue so quickly.

And then offensively, even though Jameis Winston gives this team a chance to move the ball, he struggled with turnovers against the Chargers two games ago, so I expect a similar setback against a good Steelers defense. The weather could be something that makes the game up-for-grabs, but we’re also talking about a Browns kicker in Dustin Hopkins who missed a 32- and 27-yard field goal this past Sunday in a dome.

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has had the special sauce this year, earning his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor this season following a stunning outing against the Baltimore Ravens. In Week 11, he accounted for each of the team’s 18 points with six total field goals made — including three from 50+ yards.

It was the second game this season where Boswell had made six field goals — the first time being back in Week 1’s 18-10 road win over the Atlanta Falcons, having also won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week then. Boswell’s Week 11 accomplishment made him the first player in NFL history with six field goals made in three separate career games.

Boswell has made a league-high 29 field goals this year, kicking at a 96.7% clip (100% on extra points, mind you). He’s got a three-game lead on the nearest kicker (Kai’imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans) and could be well on his way to making NFL history at this point.

Former journeyman kicker David Akers currently holds the NFL record for most field goals made in a single season with 44, a feat he accomplished in the 2011 season at the age of 37. Akers attempted 52 field goals that year, for just an 84.6% FGM percentage, and his long that year was a kick of 55 yards. That means Boswell needs just 16 more field goals over the next seven games to beat the NFL record — an average of 2.28 per game, which could be well within reach.

Boswell, a 1x NFL Pro Bowler, has scored 1,076 points over his 10-year career, which ranks only behind kicker Gary Anderson in all-time scoring for the franchise. Notably, he is outpacing him on a points-per-game basis, as Boswell sits with 7.5 PPG compared to Anderson’s 6.8.

Do you think Boswell breaks Akers’ record for most field goals in a season?

Trice Jr. has been trending toward a potential return…

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released their final injury report ahead of Week 12’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns, and praise be — it’s mostly good news, and more importantly, there are no major surprises.

The team has only designated two players as out for Week 12 and not a single player as “questionable” — a pretty remarkable achievement considering they’re 10 games into the year and playing on a short week.

Unsurprisingly, edge rusher Alex Highsmith is out for the second straight week with an ankle injury suffered in Week 10. Tomlin noted on Monday that he expected as much; Highsmith is yet to return to practice following the injury that was expected to sideline him around 2-3 weeks.

The bigger surprise (though not a shocking development) is the fact that cornerback Cory Trice Jr. has been ruled out for this game. He’s been out since suffering the injury in Week 3 and has logged four full practices since the team opened his 21-day practice window from injured reserve last week. The team has generally been cautious with their approach to injuries, however, so it’s possible the team would like to see him log a full week of practices (which he technically has yet to do given the nature of a short week playing on Thursday Night Football).

Steelers injury report Week 12

OUT: CB Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring), OLB Alex Highsmith (ankle)

Questionable: N/A

Steelers practice report for Wednesday, November 20

Full: CB Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring), TE MyCole Pruitt (knee/rest)

Ryan Parish and Ryland Bickley tackle the week’s hottest topics. This week: Mike Tomlin’s Coach of the Year case, red zone struggles, Hard Knocks stars, and more!

Following a Week 11 win over the Baltimore Ravens, it’s never been better for the Steelers in 2024. But there’s still plenty more to look forward to: marquee matchups, AFC North rivalries, in-season Hard Knocks, and of course, the playoffs keep inching closer.

We dive into the upcoming schedule and much more in this week’s Read & React:

Is Mike Tomlin the 2024 Coach of the Year?

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

RP: As much as I think he deserves it, Tomlin has aged himself out of the demographic for Coach of the Year’s usual recipients. Coach of the Year is an extremely narrative-driven award, and is typically given to the newest coach on the team with the lowest expectations to pull off a playoff run. We have plenty of examples in recent years: Sean McVay (2017), Kevin Stefanski (2020), Brian Daboll (2022), Matt Nagy (2018) and Jim Harbaugh (2011) are all recent examples of first-year coaches to win the award.

However, the NFL is open to other narratives as winners. Mike Vrabel (2021) won the award for unexpectedly leading the Titans to the AFC’s top seed in his fourth year. Stefanski won the award again last year for surviving half a season of Deshaun Watson quarterback play to make the playoffs with old Joe Flacco. Jason Garrett (2016) went 13-3 with rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott leading the way, and John Harbaugh (2019) got the Lamar bump in Jackson’s first season as a starter. Bruce Arians got the award in 2012 with rookie Andrew Luck and for filling in admirably while Colts coach Chuck Pagano missed the season while battling leukemia. Arians won again in his second season in Arizona in 2014. Ron Rivera (2013, 2015) got the award twice for holding the head coach title during Cam Newton’s two best statistical seasons.

All that’s to say, the NFL rarely gives coaches like Tomlin the award. They like new faces, whether it’s the coaches themselves or coaches with young exciting quarterbacks. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are probably too talented to get the 2023 Stefanski treatment.

Does Tomlin deserve the award? Yes. Will he be the Coach of the Year in my personal record book? Certainly. Will the NFL agree? Call me jaded, but I think Dan Campbell (turning Detroit into a dominant team), Dan Quinn (Jayden Daniels and first year with a new team bump), Kevin O’Connell (winning with Sam Darnold), or Jonathan Gannon (low expectations) if the Cardinals win the NFC West, will better fit the narratives the award voters tend to favor, especially if the Steelers drop a game or two during their insane December schedule. I think Tomlin’s only chance is if the Steelers win out.

RB: Tomlin is definitely a top candidate. The Steelers’ history means a successful season is rarely the story it would be with other teams, but don’t forget just how low the expectations were for Pittsburgh ahead of the season. Tomlin finally got some winning quarterback play, and just like that, Pittsburgh is overperforming even the most optimistic of predictions.

The Steelers haven’t been anything revolutionary schematically, but they’ve been dominant in second halves, are top-10 in point differential, and are holding up well so far with a difficult schedule. If that keeps up, those are all strong arguments for Tomlin’s Coach of the Year case. Generally, the award goes to a coach whose team is succeeding more than expected, and that fits the 2024 Steelers.

But don’t forget that there’s some tough competition. Jim Harbaugh has the “rebuilding” Chargers at 7-3. Even Sean Payton is a candidate, with the 6-5 Broncos looking like a playoff team with rookie Bo Nix under center.

Moving to the NFC, Dan Quinn and rookie passer Jayden Daniels are turning the Commanders franchise around. Media darling Dan Campbell has the Lions looking like the best team in football, while Kevin O’Connell has led the Vikings to an 8-2 record with Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback. Jonathan Gannon has the oft-forgotten Cardinals in the current lead of the NFC West.

Tomlin’s work this season has been impressive, but he’s far from the only coach deserving of the award. I think AP voters will find a better story elsewhere and Tomlin won’t win, but he should certainly be in consideration — and plenty of the season is left for him to differentiate himself.

How can the Steelers fix their red zone struggles?

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

RB: There are a lot of ways to answer this question. I’ll skip the most discussed point, the Justin Fields red zone package, as I already wrote about that following the game.

As I’ve seen some mention on BTSC already this week, red zone success can be volatile week to week, as can be seen in the play below:

It’s a great first-and-10 play call, with the Steelers setting up the screen well and leaving George Pickens with a one-on-one with the safety. That safety is Kyle Hamilton, so who knows if Pickens breaks free, but Pittsburgh is giving its most dynamic player an open field opportunity. No notes, Arthur Smith.

However, Pickens catches the ball, bumps into a blocking Pat Freiermuth, and the Ravens defense catches up to minimize the gain. You can’t scheme it up much better, but a few little things went wrong and sabotaged the play. That’s just life in the NFL and not necessarily something that needs an overhaul.

But later on, we see some systemic issues in the offense that go beyond the true-but-broad categories of “lots of pressure on the quarterback” and “the receivers aren’t getting open.” More specifically, the spacing needs work on some of the team’s route concepts.

Check out the first play that caught my eye. On the right side of the screen, you can see George Pickens and Calvin Austin III running some sort of corner/out combination. Look how close Austin is to Pickens, essentially taking away any chance of Wilson throwing to either because the defender covering Austin can easily make a play on both.

Sure, it’s third-and-eight here and Austin is running to where the sticks are, but it’s going to be tough for either to make a play here due to the spacing.

Think I’m being nitpicky? Here’s Pickens and Cordarrelle Patterson actually running into each other on a play that was mercifully stopped due to a false start.

Finally, here’s my favorite example, which results in the Steelers’ top three red zone targets running aimlessly into the same chunk of the end zone while Wilson is running for his life behind the line of scrimmage.

In the red zone, the defense is just too compressed — that was never going to work.

There’s plenty to fix in those clips, but for the spacing, it comes down to two main elements: some of these Arthur Smith red zone concepts need to be adjusted or just thrown out of the playbook. But there’s also sloppy route running in many cases that needs to be corrected — just look at how slow that last clip plays out. Brutal.

RP: I’m fully in agreement with Ryland that route spacing is probably the number one issue. Throw on any of the Steelers’ tape from this year and you’ll spot this issue in every game, and not just exclusively in the red zone. But since Bickley highlighted that so well, I’ll provide another, likely unpopular to bring up factor: Russell Wilson.

No, I’m not here to doom and gloom or hate on Wilson’s game. But there are things to consider here. No way around it, he hasn’t been good in the red zone this season. On passing attempts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, Russ has completed just 7-of-24 passes. That’s a completion percentage of just 29.2 percent. Focus that in to plays within the 10-yard line, and Russ is just 2-14 (14.3 percent). He’s turned four of those seven completions into touchdowns — and both of his completions inside the 10-yard line went for touchdowns — and his only interception came last week.

I’ve been saying all year that rooting for Wilson is a roller coaster with its fair share of frustrations. He’s a volatile quarterback, but he’s had a successful career because he’s got a knack for making just enough plays during the flow of the game to win more often than not. But efficient? Hardly.

The red zone is the perfect spot to appreciate the duality of the Russell Wilson experience. Of Wilson’s 340 career passing touchdowns, 225 (66.2 percent) have come from the red zone, and 143 (42 percent) have come from within the 10-yard line. He’s also been good about limiting turnovers, with just 14 career interceptions in the red zone. Of those interceptions, however, nine have come within the 10-yard line. Wilson also sees his completion percentage plummet in the red zone. In his career, Wilson is completing 64.7% of his passes. That plummets significantly inside the 20 (53.09%) and within the 10 (51.05%).

Some of that — but not all — has to do with where Wilson likes to throw the ball. As we’ve discussed previously, Wilson is like a modern NBA player: all threes and layups. In football terms, that means he thrives throwing deep shots down the sideline or short passes to the outside near the line of scrimmage.

When you get to the red zone, naturally, the field shrinks. There’s less space to cover vertically and the horizontal game comes more into play. Look at the graphs above and visualize the field. Quite simply, there is less space to work with in the red zone. If the quarterback relies mostly on the sideline, that means screens and contested catch balls are going to be something you rely on, and those are high-reward, low-efficiency endeavors. Wilson’s had a successful career finding them, but when they aren’t hitting it can be frustrating as hell to watch.

Let’s look at the interception against Baltimore, it highlights several things going wrong with the Steelers’ execution in the red zone. For starters, look at the spacing as Bickley highlighted. Darnell Washington and Calvin Austin on the right and George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth on the left are running the exact same route combinations on opposite sides of the field. Look where those receivers are the moment Russ gets spooked in the pocket.

The outside routes do nothing to make it easy for Wilson. On both sides of the field, the targets are so close together, that any throw Wilson makes will likely be contested by at least one defender, if not two. Russ’ options here are to either:

a) Throw a corner fade to the diminutive Calvin Austin who isn’t a contested catch threat, and the throw would need to be perfect to protect the ball from the defender.

b) Low and away to Washington, which at best would be short of the end zone and at worst could be jumped by the defender.

c) Turn and throw across his body to Freiermuth and hope it doesn’t get jumped by the defender.

d) Throw an even crazier cross-body throw to Pickens who is fully turned and not headed to the back corner.

e) Check it down to the back who is short of the goal line and would have to get through two, maybe three, Ravens to score.

f) Scramble up the middle, hope to get past the defensive tackle and then have to deal with at least three other Ravens defenders between him and the goal line.

Arthur Smith didn’t make it easy on Wilson here, but Wilson is not without blame. Wilson has always been antsy in the pocket, it’s part of his backyard style of play. That’s a double-edged sword because it has allowed him to make numerous highlights in his career, but will also often make plays harder than they needed to be.

He’s one of the most sacked quarterbacks of all time for a reason. He will sometimes drift to a side of the pocket or outright scramble out of it when he doesn’t see a play developing right away. Sometimes it’s the right call, sometimes it kills a play unnecessarily. As a fan, you learn to live with it. Still, this was a bad play for Wilson who reacted to the pressure early, spun wildly, and then made the poor decision to put this ball in harm’s way.

I intend to do a more extensive film room look at Russ and the Steelers’ red zone issues following the Thursday night game against Cleveland, so keep your eyes out for that. For now, I’ll conclude my answer by summarizing: Arthur Smith needs to work on the spacing of his red zone route concepts, and Russ needs to make quicker decisions. The red zone efficiency almost can’t get worse than it has been statistically, but I do think it can get better. There’s still time for the Steelers to figure it out before the playoffs.

Is Thursday night versus the Browns a trap game?

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

RB: With the Browns being the hated rival they are and a mini bye week following the Thursday night game, I have a hard time believing the Steelers are going to overlook this one.

However, while Pittsburgh is clearly the better team, a win is far from guaranteed. It’s a short week, an away game, and directly following a physical matchup against the Ravens. Plus, the weather forecast is doing its best to guarantee another ugly edition of Thursday Night Football.

Beyond that, parity is the name of the game in the NFL — the Browns might’ve lost by 21 to the Saints on Sunday, but they also recently beat Baltimore and gave the Eagles and Bengals a run for their money. Oh yeah, Steelers-Browns is another heated AFC North rivalry and Cleveland has had some flashes this season with Jameis Winston at quarterback.

The Steelers know this. It’s going to be a tough game, but not a trap.

RP: I don’t believe so, if only because I think the short week negates that. I know a trap game is technically any unexpected loss, but to me, a trap game has always symbolized a game where you look past your opponent to a game in the future. The Steelers are a savvy enough team not to underestimate the voodoo that is AFC North Football™. Cleveland is a more talented team than their record suggests and Jameis Winston has their offense moving the ball better than they were under Deshaun Watson. If the Steelers drop this one, I think I’d chalk it up to having only three days of rest and preparation more than “overlooking” a division rival.

The official trailer for Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North has dropped. Who do you think will be the star of the series for the Steelers?

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Stay tuned for a special Read & React Hard Knocks podcast following Dec. 3 — we’re trying something new!

RP: I expect Tomlin and Russell Wilson to get most of the early focus, but that doesn’t necessarily make a Hard Knocks star. I’m personally most excited for DeShon Elliott and Patrick Queen ahead of the Ravens game. The trailer showed clips from the Giants game, so I have to imagine we get something from the first Steelers-Ravens of the season. And of course, with someone as unique as George Pickens on the squad, I’m curious to see how much access the Steelers give HBO to their young receiver.

RB: I’ve recently become a huge fan of Russell Wilson’s pregame interviews. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone so clearly “locked in” in my life. It’s always a fast-paced string of football platitudes delivered like a Madden career mode voice actor who left the oven on at home.

“Calm as can be. Ready to go. Neutral, man. Ready to go win it. Let’s go get it.” (Abruptly leaves).

Wilson always brilliantly toes the line between endearing authenticity and mindless coach speak — it never fails to crack me up. And it also helps that he’s a legitimately good dude as well.

Wilson is the quarterback of the current first-place AFC North team, and he hasn’t exactly been media shy throughout his career — you bet he’s going to be featured a lot on Hard Knocks. Personally, I can’t wait to see more of late-career renaissance Russ: his work with the team, his work with the community, and of course, those instant-classic sound bites:

Truthfully though, I’m hoping the star of the show is a player absolutely no one expects — maybe, say, Matt Sokol was a genius comedian this whole time and we just won’t know until Hard Knocks airs.

Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. Has Mike Tomlin been the NFL’s best coach this year? Can the Steelers improve their red zone efficiency? Are you looking forward to Hard Knocks? Let us know in the comments! Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia.

A look at the greatest defensive efforts after ten games

The 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers defense is on pace to be among the franchise’s greats. Through ten games, the team currently has the NFL’s second-best scoring defense, allowing 162 total points, good for 16.2 points per game. That point total is the best in close to 20 years. Only 14 Pittsburgh defenses in the Super Bowl era have been better after ten games. Let’s look at the greatest defensive starts of the last 52 years.

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#16: 2011 – 179 points allowed in first ten games

Cameron Heyward’s career in Pittsburgh started with a very stingy defense. This team had the NFL’s best defense, allowing 14.2 points per game. It also allowed the fewest passing yards and total yards that season. In their first ten games, they held eight opponents to 20 points or less. After that, they were even better, allowing more than nine points only once. This season ended when Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos delivered a heartbreaking overtime loss in the playoffs.

#15: 2010 – 165 points allowed in first ten games

This team led the NFL in points allowed with 14.5 per game. This defense also led the league in rushing yards allowed, rushing yards per attempt, and rushing touchdowns allowed. In its first five games, the defense never allowed more than 17 points. In the final seven games, they only gave up more than 16 points once. This team won the AFC North and secured a first-round bye in the playoffs, but the Green Bay Packers defeated Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

#14: 2024 – 162 points allowed

TBD

#13: 2005 – 161 points allowed

The Super Bowl XL champions had the season’s third-best scoring defense, allowing 16.1 points per game. They were a top-ten unit against the run but were Pittsburgh’s only championship team to give up more than 3,000 passing yards in a season. Although this defense gave up a combined 62 points in games 11 and 12, with the season on the line, it rebounded by allowing only 12 total points in games 13-15. In the playoffs, they never allowed more than 18.

#12: 2004 – 161 points allowed

Ben Roethlisberger thrived during his rookie season thanks to a dominant defense, which led the NFL with 15.7 points allowed per game. The defense was also first in total yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and passing touchdowns allowed. This time won the division crown and earned the number one seed in the AFC, but lost to the New England Patriots in the conference championship 41-27.

#11: 1996 – 160 points allowed

The last season for block-numbered jerseys was a defensive powerhouse. This team was ranked fourth overall, allowing an average of 16.1 points per game. They were also second in total yards allowed, second in turnovers, third against the run, and fifth against the pass. This season ended with a division crown, but an exit in the divisional round following a 28-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

#10: 1979 – 157 points allowed

Surprisingly, the Super Bowl XIV champions have the worst defense on this list. They finished the season averaging 16.4 points allowed per game, good for fifth-best in the NFL. But they were overshadowed by the league’s best offense. In four of their first ten games, the defense held their opponents to a touchdown or less.

#9: 2008 – 150 points allowed

The Super Bowl XLIII champs are the modern definition of legendary. The defense led the league in nearly every defensive category, including total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, first downs allowed, yards per play, and yards per pass. Their 13.9 points allowed per game was also a league-best. The defense was even more effective after their tenth game, allowing 13 or fewer points in five of their final six regular-season contests.

#8: 1974 – 149 points allowed

The Super Bowl IX champions had the league’s second-best defense that season, allowing 13.5 points per game. They led the NFL in total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and turnovers. This team got even stingier after Week 10 and allowed only 11 points per game in the playoffs, including only six in the Super Bowl.

#7: 2007 – 145 points allowed

Mike Tomlin’s first season as head coach was led by its defense. They had the league’s second-best scoring defense, allowing 16.8 points per game. They also gave up the least total yards and the least amount of first downs. However, the cracks in the defense began to show in the last month of the season, where they gave up an average of 28.5 points in their final four games. Although this team won the AFC North, the season ended with a 31-29 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round.

#6: 1992 – 139 points allowed

Bill Cowher’s first season as head coach brought a new commitment to defense as well. Pittsburgh finished the season with the NFL’s second-best scoring defense, allowing only 14.1 points per game. They were a top-ten unit against the pass, but middle of the pack against the run. What made this defense stand out was its league-leading 43 turnovers. They finished the season with the number one seed but lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round 24-3.

#5: 1978 – 139 points allowed

The Super Bowl XIII champions held ten opponents to ten points or less. They had the NFL’s stingiest scoring defense, averaging 12.2 points allowed per game. They also had the second-best rushing defense in the league. After Week 10, the defense got even stingier, giving up more than ten points only twice. The stat from this season that may be the most impressive is the defense’s average of three turnovers per game.

#4: 2000 – 119 points allowed

The short-lived Kent Graham era had a rocky start, starting 0-3. But after that, the defense became inspired, giving up a total of 22 points during a five-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they would later have a five-game stretch where they gave up an average of 27.6 points per game. Although this defense was ranked sixth overall by season’s end, averaging 15.9 points allowed per game, the team finished with a record of 9-7, missing the playoffs.

#3: 1976 – 119 points allowed

Some consider this defense Pittsburgh’s greatest ever. They finished the season as the league’s best, allowing only 9.86 points per game, the lowest in franchise history. They were ranked #1 not only in points allowed but also in total yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, rushing touchdowns allowed and first downs allowed. They completely shut out five teams that season. But in the AFC Championship game without Franco Harris or Rocky Bleier, they lost to the Oakland Raiders 24-7.

#2: 1975 – 114 points allowed

The Super Bowl X champions had the NFL’s 2nd best defense, allowing only 11.6 points per game, the stingiest of Pittsburgh’s Lombardi winners. They were the eighth-best in the league against the run and fourth-best against the pass. More importantly, they gave up the fewest passing touchdowns all year, a meager nine. This team only gave up more than 17 points twice all season.

#1: 2001 – 97 points allowed

This team finished the season with the third-best defense in the league, averaging 13.3 points allowed per game. They were #1 against the run and #4 against the pass. They gave up more than 17 points in only four games, and only twice in the first ten games. This team entered the playoffs with the #1 seed but ultimately lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.

These former Steelers have a shot at Canton.

It’s a long, drawn out process to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but two former Steelers have taken the next step. The Hall of Fame announced its 2025 modern-era semifinalists, with James Harrison and Hines Ward being two of the 25 names.

Ward is one of the best wide receivers in Steelers history and possibly the greatest blocking receiver to ever do it. He’s logged plenty of accolades: four Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, and the MVP award from Super Bowl XL. He’s Pittsburgh’s all-time leading receiver with 12,083 receiving yards and 85 receiving touchdowns.

Harrison also had a dominant career: five Pro Bowls, two All-Pros, two Super Bowls, and a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008. His 80.5 career sacks are the third-most in Steelers history, and he’s had plenty of iconic on-field moments, the most special being his 100-yard pick six in Super Bowl XLIII.

However, Ward and Harrison will have some tough competition, with the 25 semifinalists including names such as Eli Manning, Antonio Gates, Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith Sr., Adam Vinatieri, Darren Woodson, Vince Wilfork, and other legendary NFL players.

You can view the full list here.

The 25 semifinalists will be narrowed down to 15 finalists in December, along with three names from the seniors class, one coach, and one contributor. Of those 20, four to eight will make the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Steelers executive Art Rooney Jr. is also still a Hall of Fame candidate. He was named a semifinalist in the contributor class back in October.

The Steelers have had little success in Cleveland as of late.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-2 after a hard-fought win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. Now, on a short week, they will travel to Cleveland to face the 2-8 Browns on Thursday Night Football. And while the Steelers are the better team, history says this will be a game that they drop.

For starters, the Steelers are a mere 2-4-1 in Cleveland since 2017. Plus, playing on the road on a short week following a tough win over their arch rivals is a big factor to take into consideration here. As Alan Saunders of Steelers Now pointed out, Pittsburgh has never won a road divisional game on Thursday Night. Additionally, the Steelers are 2-8 on the road in Thursday night games under Tomlin.

We recently saw this very same matchup, when the Steelers travelled to Cleveland in Week 3 of the 2022 season where the Browns won convincingly by the score of 29-17. And while the offense is much better than that 2022 team, the hint of doubt still lingers as the Steelers will try to do something they’ve never done before.

So while the Steelers are on a five-game winning streak and are the better team on both sides of the ball, they won’t win every game – and this one has all the makings for a loss.