The Pittsburgh Steelers have won three of their first four games of the 2024 season and they sit in first place in the AFC North with a 3-1 record. Many observers believed the Steelers were in for a difficult season because head coach Mike Tomlin had to choose between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at the QB1 position.
Wilson was designated as the team’s starter during the offseason, but Wilson struggled with a nagging calf injury in training camp that has lingered into the season. As a result, Fields has ascended to the lead position. Fields often struggled with his decision making during the first three seasons with the Chicago Bears. Nevertheless, Tomlin has been quite supportive of the former Ohio State quarterback.
NBC studio analyst Tony Dungy has regularly supported Tomlin throughout his career and he is impressed with the job that the Steelers coach is doing this season. Dungy and the NBC crew is in Pittsburgh this week as the Steelers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
“I was at the Steelers offices today to interview Mike Tomlin for Cowboys-Steelers game this week,” Dungy wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. “Being there brought back some great memories for me of my career with the Steelers and of Mike’s early days with the Bucs. I knew he was going to be a special coach and seeing what he’s done in Pittsburgh has been awesome.”
Steelers have shown offensive improvement and defensive dominance
As the Steelers prepare for their Week 5 meeting with the Cowboys, they have shown some improvement on the offensive side of the ball compared to what they did a year ago. The Steelers rank 17th with 317.8 yards per game. That may not be overly impressive, but they ranked 25th in that category a year ago when Kenny Pickett was the starting quarterback.
Fields is completing 70.6 percent of his passes and has thrown for 830 yards with 3 touchdown and 1 interception.
Field has also run the ball 38 times for 145 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has scored all three of Pittsburgh’s rushing touchdowns this season. Wideout George Pickens has been Fields’ leading target through four games. He has caught 20 passes for 284 yards.
While the Steelers have shown more life on offense, the defense has been dominant. They rank second to the Los Angeles Chargers as they are allowing 13.3 points per game and they are fourth in yards allowed.
Star edge rusher T.J. Watt has 12 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery. Safety DeShon Elliott has made a big contribution with a team-leading 30 tackles along with 2 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble.
The Steelers will meet the Raiders, Jets and Giants after hosting the Cowboys. They have their bye in Week 9.
