The Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-0, the team with the best record in the league and the only remaining undefeated team. The only other team with fewer than two losses through at least eight games is the Kansas City Chiefs, who are 8-1 heading into their bye.
Yet in spite of the fact that they have even beaten some of the better teams in the AFC (the 6-2 Baltimore Ravens on the road, the 6-2 Tennessee Titans on the road, and the 5-3 Cleveland Browns at home), there are still some outlets who are hesitant to give them what others feel is their due. Pro Football Focus, for example, ranks the Ravens two spots ahead of them.
Earlier today, Cameron Heyward spoke to the media, and was asked about his thoughts where some in the media appear to be questioning the validity of the Steelers’ 8-0 record and whether or not it was truly earned to representative of how good they actually are.
“They hate us cuz they ain’t us”, the defensive captain said, via video provided by the team’s media department. “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 us week in and week out, and we hold ourselves to a higher standard than what everybody else thinks”.
“But for all the guys looking and saying ‘it’s got to look like this’, one thing I can say is, the Super Bowl winner hasn’t been determined”, he added. “We’re gonna keep working. Our job is to make the playoffs, and then to win the Super Bowl. So I’m gonna leave it at that”.
The Steelers have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL, though they do have some tough games ahead, including rematches against the Ravens and Browns, and games against the 7-2 Buffalo Bills and the 5-3 Indianapolis Colts, who just lost to the Ravens. They also have two games against the Cincinnati Bengals, and you know division games—even Bengals division games—can go wonky at any moment.
The Steelers being 8-0, in reality, hasn’t been Pittsburgh, either. In fact, this is the first time in their history, going back to 1933, that they have ever been 8-0. They have only ever done better than 4-0 once before, back in 1978.
This is the third year in a row in which a team has started at least 8-0 after the New England Patriots accomplished it in 2019 and the Los Angeles Rams did the same in 2018. The Cincinnati Bengals also started 8-0 in 2015. The Carolina Panthers went 14-0 that year as well. The Kansas City Chiefs went 9-0 in 2013. Wrapping it up for the decade, the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers went 9-0 in 2013 and 2011, respectively.
