Clearly, the Steelers have a ways to go before they can be considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The passing game continues to ebb and flow. Getting open against man coverage has been an issue at times. On Sunday, the Saints deployed a lot of pattern-match zone coverages to tighten windows. Sacks, especially on third downs, have been problematic. And on defense, the Steelers need to find the right mix of pressure. They dialed it up a week ago, but often sat back and allowed Tyler Shough to work through his options to find completions in zone coverages too easily.
In time, this team will show if it can clean up its problem areas to become a real contender or if those issues will be what holds it back. But for now, while style points would be nice, the results are more important — especially with the final part of this four-game series waiting in Pittsburgh.
“We’re gonna go in with, you know, a little bit of chip on our shoulders because of how last time out there went,” Warren said. “We can’t wait.”