We expect the Steelers record to go bye in Week 9

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the NFL’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the first four weeks of the season. Both are consistent football programs that inexplicably finish with double-digit wins while playing the most unspectacular football imaginable.

For teams like the (ahem) Cowboys, it must be insane. They won’t unnerve you with explosive plays, but will force you into submission under pressure with incredible skill. At some point, the opponents look down in shock, realize their souls have left their bodies, and come to terms with the fact that the Steelers pushed them toward the light.

At 3-1, the Steelers feel like they should be 4-0 after losing a trap game to the Indianapolis Colts. However, three primetime games over the next four weeks, in which the Steelers complete the first half of their schedule before a bye week in Week 9, give them a chance to make up for missing out on a potential win against an inferior opponent. The outlook is optimistic, assuming Justin Fields doesn’t regress and JJ Watt is healthy. It’s dangerous to make assumptions, but someone has to do it.

Odds of winning: 6 out of 10

How Fields almost got a replacement player while Jones got a contract extension in New York should be studied by science. He’s infinitely more talented, but one could also argue that Fields is running the same career-saving, low-risk, low-reward passing campaign that Jones ran in 2022.

Last week, the Giants outscored the Cowboys, generated more first downs, and their pressure contained Dak Prescott well enough for Jones to outscore him through the air. More importantly, New York dominated time of possession. The Steelers lead the NFL in average time of possession during regulation, thanks in part to a ball-control offense led by Fields and a top-two scoring defense. Micah Parsons is a one-man wrecking crew who will force Fields to speed up his mental clock from the pocket. However, it feels like Mike Tomlin can play at home on Sunday night after an unfocused loss where the team is more receptive to coaching and the team is responding.

Odds of winning: 7 to 10

Gardner Minshew is a Ryan Fitzpatrick clone. He’s got fantastic facial hair, a unique backstory, and he’ll either lead an offense to an electrifying victory in a game they shouldn’t have had a chance in, or he’ll throw them through a hurricane and puzzle his own coaches . The Raiders are either a 4-13 team in January or an 8-9 team because of Minshew. There is no in-between. However, depending on the resolution of Adams’ trade request, Minshew may not have a No. 1 target soon.

The Raiders’ offense isn’t explosive, but it is malleable in its current form. Perhaps knowing an Adams trade saga was looming, Antonio Pierce transformed the Raiders in real time from a pass-first unit that rushed for 27 yards and runs with fewer first downs than any other team in a win over the Baltimore Ravens scored in the league in a power football-obsessed offense Registration of the ball by Terra Firma instead of by air.

Pierce does a commendable job despite the storm, but the Raiders are a ship about to capsize. Pierce likes a post about Davante Adams’ trade targets becoming the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Adams and talks about how the Raiders are bleeding internally despite a 2-2 record and could very well be 1-3 be if it weren’t so A The Browns’ touchdown was negated by an offensive hold and Amari Cooper bouncing passes off his chest.

Odds of winning: 4 out of 10

Aaron Rodgers is starting to resemble a Broncos-era Russell Wilson lookalike, complete with a Nathaniel Hackett action doll. Rodgers is the milk that Salah keeps past its expiration date because he thinks it’s fine as long as the smell doesn’t overwhelm him after he takes the cap off. It begins to curdle in real time. But Rodgers still has some use if you cook it. Aaron Rodgers is defiant enough to beat Father Time on occasion.

He was terrible in the rain against the Broncos, but the Steelers also know something about a disappointing performance. The Jets’ secondary is arguably the best in the league and will be a problem for Fields. There is bound to be a loss at this stage and this appears to be the week it will occur.

Odds of winning: 8 to 10

If the Steelers let Daniel Jones beat them, Steeler Nation could take a dip in the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. A loss to the Big Blue is a result before a bye that can leave a team reeling.

Malik Nabers is a game-changer, but not enough to make the league’s vanilla quarterback a match for this Tomlin-Austin defense. The Giants proved on Sunday night why they are the No. 29 ranked offense in the league for a reason. They can’t convert touchdowns in the red zone when the field is tight and their ground game is 30th in the league, making their commitment to play-action even more comical.

At 7-2, the Steelers would have the record of a serious contender, but three of the next four are at home and the back half of the schedule is the crucible that will separate the best from the best. They’ll need all the headroom they can afford with Washington, Kansas City and Philadelphia before the credit card bill comes due, followed by six games against division rivals Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland.