Yahoo Sports NFL analyst Nate Tice and NFL writer Charles McDonald discuss whether the Steelers 3-0 start is a fluke or if the Steel Curtain has returned to Pittsburgh and if they should be a force in the AFC. Hear the full conversation on “Football 301” – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
I think they’ve just been flat out better than some of the teams and the teams that they played so far and the defense is real, like the defense is absolutely real.
TJ Watt is often maybe his best start that he’s had, he’s still doing some like the snap jumping stuff, but whatever, like you’re, you’re this far into your career, you’re still this good at it.
That’s fine.
Um, and like that gives them a chance to like legitimately close games, which is important because just about every game they play is gonna be close because the offense is still a work in progress.
Although I thought Justin Fields had his best game of the season on Sunday, but there’s gonna be frustrating moments with fields like he, he is gonna be always limited as a passer and I, I’ve grown to accept it as someone that, uh, like fields a lot as a prospect.
The fourth quarter, he had two throws or in the second half, he had two throws back, uh, on the same drive, he had three plays.
I should say he had a, a throw to Pickens, I believe it was on a bender that was great and it was 123 hit his back foot hits the finishes his drop and he lets that ball go with confidence, tough throw, wrapping around a second level defender.
Great next pass.
He’s he, I think it’s like a quick game spacing concept which you have to kind of go 12345 on that.
And he, you can tell his, his heart wants to tell him scramble because he starts kind of looking and then you see his brain and his, yeah, his brain and training kicks in and he like freezes like he gets in kind of like a squat stance because you can see everything freezing on him going.
Like I should check this down and then he like throws like a little thing to Naji Harris goes for like three yards.
That’s improvement for Justin because even in week one against the Falcons, they were burning clock, his whole sideline is yelling at him to go down and he’s trying to make a play, but you can tell they’re trying to get through to him.
You don’t have to be the hero for once in your life.
You don’t have to be the best player on the field.
You can just be a caretaker that does some stuff every once in a while.
And I think it’s finally getting through to him.
It’s not a great team, but they’re a, they’re a tough out and they’re like in this division, I feel as good as them as a lot of the other teams in the weirdest, in the weirdest way.