The Steelers spent the last two weeks going on the road and beating the Tennessee Titans (5-0) and the Baltimore Ravens (5-1).
They did so without playing their best football. In fact, they were pretty lousy for roughly half of both games.
So, in a way, that had to make Steelers fans feel pretty good that their team could bump off two high-ranking AFC foes in their buildings without even playing top-of-the-line football for the whole game.
That wasn’t the case Sunday in Dallas, though.
Well, the first part was true. The Steelers still seemed to play only half the game again. It’s how they managed to scrape by a pathetic 2-7 Cowboys team in Dallas that was far less uplifting.
The 24-19 victory for Mike Tomlin’s crew didn’t resonate as the same kind of valiant comeback as the last one they pulled off seven days earlier in Baltimore, even though they trailed 13-0 in Texas.
And the efforts to fend off Garrett Gilbert’s charge at the end conjured up a feeling of relief much more than it did inspiration, as was the case in Nashville when they warded off the Titans.
Mark Madden of 105.9 The X seemed to agree in this week’s Madden Monday podcast.
“What I take away the most from the game is, even at 8-0 I just don’t trust the Steelers. And I certeinly do not trust (head coach) Mike Tomlin,” Madden said.
Madden specifically pointed out that he didn’t like Tomlin’s decision to go for a late fourth down instead of kicking a field goal that could’ve increased their lead to eight points.
“I just don’t know if I’m going to trust this team,” Madden said. “Which seems like a weird thing to say at 8-0. But I know what I’m seeing. I know what I saw (Sunday), and I can’t help but say it. That’s how I feel.”
Part of the reason Madden’s confidence is a bit eroded from the previous seven victories is that the defense seems to be slipping. That could be due to the attrition on that side of the ball due to injuries. Devin Bush, Tyson Alualu and Mike Hilton all missed the Cowboys game. And new linebacker Avery Williamson won’t be fully woven into the mix until next week’s game against Cincinnati at the earliest.
“It’s amazing they made the fourth-string quarterback for Dallas look as good as he did,” Madden said. “The Dallas rushing attack ripped the Steelers defense apart like Baltimore’s did last week. At this point, the gaudy statistics and splash plays aside, I don’t think it is unfair to call this Steelers defense slightly overrated.”
So the Steelers barely managed to avoid their typical, annual bad upset road loss. Does that mean this close call is now out of the team’s system? Or will the players trip up against similarly poor opponents from Cincinnati and Jacksonville before getting the Ravens again on Thanksgiving?
“If they had demolished Dallas, then I think they would have had a game like this in the stretch,” Madden said. “And had it happened against Cincinnati, they may have been good enough to take advantage and eke out a win. Even in Heinz Field. But now that they did survive Dallas — despite playing very poorly — I bet they beat the bejesus out of Cincinnati.”
Madden and I tackle all these topics in the podcast. We also dive into Mike Tomlin’s curious decision to avoid kicking a field goal late in the game, big fourth-quarter defensive efforts from some top-of-the-roster stars, and controversial officiating calls.
Plus, we discuss that debate over Notre Dame students rushing the field in South Bend, Penn State’s 0-3 start, and the notion of more NHL hockey in a bubble format.
Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss Steelers’ shaky win over the Cowboys
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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