The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering the second half of their season after having their Week 9 bye. They are gearing up to face the Washington Commanders in Week 10 in Landover, Maryland. The first half of the season went much better than many expected, especially considering quarterback Russell Wilson missed the first six games with a calf injury.
In recent years, the Steelers have had to rely heavily on their defense to keep them in games, and at times, even win them, as their offense struggled to move the ball. While some feel that the defense isn't performing at a high enough level, considering the amount of money spent on it, it has still been a tremendous asset. They are currently second in the league for points allowed, and it has shown.
In his weekly press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke with the media about the team's progress and his expectations for the second half of the season. Tomlin was asked if he saw enough from the players during the first eight weeks to give him a solid indicator of the team's identity.
"I think that's a slippery discussion because oftentimes your immediate identity is affected by current circumstance," explained Tomlin. "When there is a lack of player availability in certain areas, oftentimes, it affects how you go about business. For example, for a large part of that eight games that you mentioned, we only had T.J. [Watt], and we didn't have Alex Highsmith or Nick Herbig, so that might affect how you rush, particularly in one-dimensional moments. And so, broadly, yes, but there are some complexities if I'm legitimately answering that question because oftentimes, your day-to-day decisions in the short term are affected by current circumstance. So the larger body of time that you look at, the more true that statement is and oftentimes eight games can be or cannot be enough of a sample size to legitimately address that."
The Steelers have suffered several injuries this season, including the one Tomlin mentioned to Alex Highsmith. Fortunately, he returned for the Week 7 game against the New York Jets. As they head to face Washington, they hope to get other high-impact players back, including center Zach Frazier and Highsmith's fellow linebacker Nick Herbig. They will also have Cam Sutton available as his suspension is over.
Since Pittsburgh has the highest-paid defense in the NFL, the expectations for its performance are extremely high, and many feel it isn't living up to those visions. New Steel City linebacker Patrick Queen recently told the media that the entire defense will have to do their job to beat the Commanders and excel during this tough second half of the season.
Steelers' Russell Wilson Is A Critical Part Of Shaping The Team's Identity
Former Steelers offensive lineman Craig Wolfley said Wilson is becoming a big part of the Black and Gold identity. He is bringing a kind of leadership back to the offense they haven't seen since Ben Roethlisberger's days. That will help the team continue to grow into a more cohesive unit heading into the second half of the season.
The norm in Pittsburgh has long been the "Steeler Way." Wolfley said what he is witnessing among Wilson and his teammates, especially Justin Fields, is the team-first mentality they have always known for. Wolfley said that the veterans helped him learn how things were done in Pittsburgh when he was a rookie. Then, he took his turn before leaving the Steelers by showing those behind him exactly how things were done.
He said he had not seen any of the negatives Pittsburgh was warned about, such as Wilson not being a team player. Wolfley said, if anything, it's been the opposite, with Wilson doing all he can to help Fields play his very best.
