Dec 12, 2016 6 min read

The Steelers took a major step on Sunday in Buffalo.

They showed that they can overcome a bad day by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and win via their running game and defense.

Yes, their defense.

Winning in Cleveland with Roethlisberger struggling is one thing. Winning in Buffalo on an off day by Roethlisberger is quite a bit different.

The Steelers slammed the door early on Buffalo’s running game. Ryan Shazier was a maniac, both spying Tyrod Taylor and attacking the line of scrimmage to slow LeSean McCoy.

Shazier missed McCoy several times in the backfield on a slick turf, but he slowed him to the point where McCoy was indecisive in the backfield. Same with Taylor.

And how about Bud Dupree? He missed a sack possibility on Taylor at one point in the second half and the elusive quarterback continued to run around in the backfield, avoiding sack attempts by three other players until he was chased down from behind by Dupree.

I wasn’t a fan of the Dupree pick last year because I didn’t think he would help the Steelers in 2015 as much as a defensive back would have done. And he compounded that by missing the first 10 games of this season. But he’s making up for last time. And he makes Pittsburgh’s defense really, really fast.

Shazier, Dupree, Stephon Tuitt, Sean Davis, Artie Burns, Mike Mitchell and Lawrence Timmons are all guys that are fast and athletic for their respective positions.

That speed showed up Sunday in shutting down Buffalo’s run game.

@ That brings us to Le’Veon Bell and Pittsburgh’s running game.

I know there are those out there who will never trust Bell because of his two violations of the NFL drug policy. But the Steelers obviously do.

They put all of their eggs in the Bell basket the past four games to pull out of their 4-game losing streak.

He has responded with four consecutive 100-yard games.

And the Steelers will continue to ride their feature back.

It was announced Sunday that the salary cap will go up around $10 million in 2016. That might even be a conservative estimate. And it should give the Steelers $35 to $40 million in cap space.

The Steelers absolutely need to lock Bell up with a long-term deal this offseason. And I don’t even consider using the franchise tag on him. I don’t know that it would deter some team from making a run at him.

He’s that good.

@ Yes, the Steelers will have enough cap space to be very aggressive re-signing their own players this offseason. But enough about the offseason.

@ The Steelers have played themselves back into being a Super Bowl contender.

The offensive line is playing as well as any in the NFL. And it might be the best combination of run blockers and pass blockers in the NFL.

Bell is on fire.

The defense continues to make plays, get sacks and make big plays.

Roethlisberger is going to have to get his home-road thing worked out.

You’re not often going to win a game when you lose the turnover battle 3-1. And one of his interceptions led directly to a touchdown for the Bills, while the other two came in the red zone, keeping the Steelers from really turning this game into a blowout.

Sunday’s win improved the Steelers’ record to 2-9 in games in which Roethlisberger has three or more interceptions.

But I don’t know that you can go into Arrowhead or Gillette stadiums and win with the quarterback turning the ball over three times.

That said, the Steelers have played an inordinant amount of bad weather games this season.

@ If the playoffs started this week, the Steelers would be in, regardless of what happens Monday at New England.

If the Ravens somehow win, the Steelers still currently sit in the No. 6 spot thanks to conference tiebreakers.

And if the Ravens lose, as expected, the Steelers will be the AFC North leaders. They also have a chance to catch the Chiefs for the No. 2 seed. Amd remember, the Steelers dominated Kansas City earlier this season at Heinz Field.

The interesting thing would be if the Steelers finish as the No. 3 seed, which they should because the AFC South is putrid.

Oakland would be the No. 5 seed right now and would play Houston. And, assuming the Steelers beat whoever is the No. 6 seed – Baltimore, Denver, Miami – at home, the Raiders would head to New England for a shootout, while the Steelers would play Kansas City.

@ If the Steelers beat Cincinnati this weekend – and they’ve won five of six there with Roethlisberger at QB – they will finish 11-5.

@ I’m not sure why Mike Tomlin wouldn’t acknowledge that the Steelers changed their offensive game plan in the second half of Sunday’s game. They went run-heavy, which I’m sure was an adjustment all of the armchair offensive coordinators were calling for after watching Roethlisberger stumble through the first half.

But it was the right adjustment, to be sure.

Sunday’s win was the 100th of Tomlin’s career in the regular season and he got there more quickly than both Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher did.

In Noll’s case, that’s not surprising. He had a total rebuild.

But the anti-Tomlin crowd – and it’s often quite loud – has to acknowledge the fact Tomlin got to 100 faster than Cowher.

And don’t give me that “Cowher didn’t have a quarterback” horse hockey. Cowher didn’t have a quarterback because he often didn’t know how to handle them.

How else can you explain the Kent Graham decision or what he did to Jim Miller in 1996?

Yes, Tomlin benefitted from having some of Cowher’s guys – most notably, Roethlisberger – in place. But he also had the guts to release Joey Porter and roll with James Harrison at outside linebacker.

Cowher’s the guy that kept cutting Harrison.

The bottom line is that both are good coaches. They have their flaws. And that’s OK. Don’t tell me about firing Tomlin unless you can give me a viable replacement who will do a better job.