Although the Pittsburgh Steelers were the only AFC North team to leave Week 1 with a win, some people still don’t believe that they’re a very good team. FS1’s Colin Cowherd is one of those people. Cowherd has been on record stating that he dislikes how the Steelers are built, and after their Week 1 win, he said that he’s only more frustrated that they were able to play that brand of football and win.
“I don’t think this is sustainable,” Cowherd said Monday on his radio show The Herd. “I think the schedule gets really tough in a couple of weeks when it’s Chargers, Colts, Cowboys. We knew they had a soft launch with Atlanta and Denver. We said that really works in their favor, but I see Aaron Rodgers, and Dak [Prescott], and some really good quarterbacks coming.
“It was loud, it was physical, it was tough. That feels like how the Steelers win, but I don’t know if you can wake up this morning and think to yourself, ‘This is the future of the NFL.’”
It’s true that the Steelers didn’t have much flash or flair in their win, but they did win. They went into Atlanta, playing a Falcons team with a lot of new additions, and played a more physical game. The Steelers aren’t trying to be the Kansas City Chiefs with amazing passes and out-of-the-box play calling. They’re trying to control the clock, smother opposing offenses, and force turnovers.
Cowherd doesn’t seem to like that game plan, and that’s fine; he doesn’t have to. As long as it continues to produce wins, the Steelers aren’t going to change. Yes, Kirk Cousins is coming off a serious injury and didn’t look like himself. However, the rest of the Falcons’ offense was healthy, and the Steelers’ defense crushed them.
Cowherd continued to explain his dislike for the Steelers, revealing that this win doesn’t change his opinion about them at all.
“I think this is an eight-win team, maybe a nine-win team. It validates what they currently are,” he said.
The Steelers’ offense may have looked like they could only win eight or nine games, but their defense looked like they could go toe to toe with anyone. T.J. Watt looked like the best defender in the league, and the rest of that unit looked elite as well. Other teams may have better quarterbacks, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee them victory.
The Steelers will face greater tests during this season, and if they manage to win any of those games, it will be curious to see if Cowherd changes his tune. If their offense can manage to finish a little better, they should be able to stay competitive. Cowherd also didn’t have much faith in the Steelers to beat the Falcons, and they managed to do that just fine. We’ll see how they perform against players like Rodgers and Prescott.
