Despite turmoil, Steelers on top

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The man in charge of managing the combustible mix of talent and egos on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense likes to choose his words carefully. Still, Todd Haley couldn’t help but take a not-so- thinly veiled shot at the outside noise that surrounded his group after a lifeless loss to Jacksonville a month ago.

“The world was coming to an end,” the offensive coordinator said sarcastically.

Not quite. The Steelers responded with three consecutive wins to reach the midpoint at 6-2, tied for the best record in the AFC, with a user-friendly second-half schedule that includes five of their final seven games at Heinz Field.

Pittsburgh has done it while weathering a fair amount of self-inflicted drama, from a “botched” attempt to sidestep the national anthem controversy to Martavis Bryant’s pouting to Ben Roethlisberger’s facetious questioning on whether he still had “it” after throwing a pair of pick-6s against the Jaguars.

The reality is maybe the 35-year-old Roethlisberger doesn’t, at least not like he used to. His current quarterback rating (82) is his lowest since 2008. He’s thrown just one more touchdown (10) than interceptions (nine), and yet the Steelers are firmly atop the AFC North. It’s a trade-off Roethlisberger can more than live with considering he’s well aware he and the rest of the offense can play better.

So what if his downfield accuracy is a bit off? So what if Pittsburgh has gone over 30 points once in its last 14 games Roethlisberger has started? So what if the Steelers are 20th in points scored? He doesn’t particularly care. Neither do his teammates.

Roethlisberger’s favorite sequence on Oct. 29 against Detroit wasn’t his floater to JuJu Smith-Schuster that ended with the rookie sprinting 97 yards to give the Steelers all the breathing room they needed. It came with the ball in his hands, the clock ticking toward zero and victory in hand .

“That’s the greatest play in football, when you can take a knee to seal it,” Roethlisberger said. “When we can find ways to win football games, our defense is stepping up huge. We need them to keep playing like that because the offense is going to come around.”

If what the Steelers have done each of the last three falls is any indication, he’s right. Pittsburgh is a combined 19-5 over the second half of a schedule since 2014. The late surges have propelled the Steelers increasingly closer to the Super Bowl. They believe another one is at hand if they stay the course.

“The No. 1 thing is winning,” Haley said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best ball offensively, but we’re in good position.”

Making sure Bryant, who Pittsburgh decided to hold on to at the trade deadline despite his obvious unhappiness about a lack of touches, is involved would likely help. The Steelers deactivated him in Detroit as punishment for taking to social media to air his grievances.