What Steelers Need To Do To Beat Seahawks On The Road
By Christina Rivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers look to finish 4-0 against the NFC West in 2015 with a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. During the bye week, the Steelers looked back at the things that got them to their 6-4 record as well as the picture ahead of them. The primary focus was on rehabilitation of injured players as well as self-analysis, what has worked versus what has not. The team is at its healthiest state since the season began giving the Steelers the opportunity to take one game at a time as they make their mark on the 2015 NFL regular season. It all comes down to Seattle in Week 12.
Steelers focused on what they can control
Pittsburgh is in a good spot among teams competing for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs with six victories in the AFC, putting them ahead of four other teams by just a single game (with five). "We are what we are coming out of the bye, we're a 6-4 team," said head coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday. "We've done enough, we're in the thick of it enough, that we simply need to focus on this week's challenge. If we continue to meet this week's challenge, whatever (that) is...we move forward."
There are tiebreakers to consider, but right now the Steelers control their own playoff fate. With their final six games of the season to be played against the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos at Heinz Field, with trips to the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, Tomlin said the proper perspective shouldn't be on the who is chasing them but on what is in front of this team. "That's what you can control," Tomlin said. "If we do that repeatedly over the course of five or six weeks, I would imagine we'll be in pretty good position That's my mentality. That's the mentality I'll sell and instill in our group. And it will remain unchanged."
Steelers take whole team approach against Seahawks
"It's going to take us all to meet this week's challenge," Tomlin said. "I'm not worried about down the road. Down the road will get you beat...we need to focus." The bye offered rehab opportunities as well as rest, but as the team returns to health it was some of the younger players that got additional opportunities to work during the off week. During the course of practice, the Steelers focused on what Tomlin called "situational" football as well as individual skill development to provide the entire team with the skills the coaching staff expects. As a team, the Steelers are coming together at a good time.
When asked about whether preparation for teams the Steelers may not be as familiar with forces changes in what the team does, Tomlin said that there is no difference. "We focus on the things that are important to us and that's who we are utilizing [as far as personnel], how we are going to utilize them, what we are going to ask them to do and their ability to execute it based on the unforeseen, what the opponent may do or be," said Tomlin.
Numbers that stand out for Steelers
Several key players are on track to add important stats as they head into Week 12, whether the team is focused on them or not. Ben Roethlisberger will move past Dave Krieg (261) for 14th in league history with most touchdown passes in his career if he makes just one more on Sunday and he is just 113 passing yards shy of 2,000 total this season, which would extend his consecutive seasons number with at least that number since he began his career.
Antonio Brown is on pace to move into a tie for eighth in franchise history (with Ray Matthews, 34) with one more touchdown catch and is only 100 receiving yards from becoming the third player in team history with 6,500 behind Hines Ward (12,083) and John Stallworth (8,723). Defensive end Cam Heyward will have three straight seasons recording 5.0 sacks or more if he is able to garner one more in the next six games.
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.