Photo via Steelers.com
By Hombre de Acero
The Steelers entered Detroit looking to keep their winning streak alive and looking to take a victory into the bye week. The men in Black and Gold accomplished both, which leaves them at 6-2 as Tomlin’s team heals bumps and bruises before resuming action against the Indianapolis Colts in two weeks. But before we can turn out attention to that, this segment of Steelers Nation must resolve these 5 Smoldering Questions on the Steelers.
1. In reviewing the Steelers win against the Bengals, Steel City Insider’s Jon Ledyard made this observation:
Two incompletions kept a ton of time on the clock for Cincinnati before the fake punt, which is one of the worst decisions I’ve seen in a while. Running a fake punt in your own territory with a 12-point lead, with your backup safety throwing the second pass of his life to a wide receiver with a lengthy history of ugly drops? What could go wrong? You guys know I’m all about being aggressive, but discretion is the better part of valor in this situation, and the Steelers were lucky to get away with a good result despite an ugly process.
Agree or disagree? Defend your decision.
2. Sticking with the Bengals game, it was clear that while Antonio Brown made his catches and did his damage, William Jackson is a cornerback capable of challenging Brown. The Steelers were rumored to favor William Jackson in the 2016 NFL Draft, but Cincinnati got him first.
Do you think the Steelers would have been better off with Jackson, or are you satisfied with Artie Burns?
3. When the Lions were blanketing Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster made them pay on several occasions. Do you think he did enough to take away Martavis Bryant’s starting slot?
4. When looking at the performance of the Steelers defense in Detroit, what do you see? A defense that was utterly unable to stop an opponent from advancing down the field into the Red Zone? Or a defense that weathered 17 shots at the end zone from inside its 20 and didn’t give up a single touchdown?
5. Take a look at this replay of Javon Hargrave eating Dwyane Washington alive at the goal line (before Vince Williams and Sean Davis pile on.)
What leaves a bigger impression on you? Javon Hargrave’s play or the look of utter disbelief on Jim Cadwell’s face?
Bye week bonus
6. Robert Golden now has a passer rating of 118.7% and is averaging 34.5 YPA. Does that qualify him to occupy the role of “Disaster Man” much the way that Antwaan Randle-El did?
Going Deep: 