Last week was the most thrilling of the NFL season. It was filled with tense, high-quality games between top teams. This week might be better.
The Patriots and Steelers headline a weekend that includes two matchups that could decide divisions (Chargers at Chiefs, and Rams at Seahawks) and the return of Aaron Rodgers for a must-win Packers game against the Panthers.
“The storylines start to crystallize,” CBS studio analyst and former Steelers coach Bill Cowher said of this time of the season. “You can start talking about how teams got here. The cream starts rising to the top, you start finding out who can challenge who.”
It’s a stretch that the NFL desperately needed in a season that’s been defined by national anthem protests, feuds with President Trump, in-fighting among owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell, and injuries to star players.
The scariest of those injuries came to Steelers star linebacker Ryan Shazier, who remains hospitalized with a spinal injury suffered two weeks ago against the Bengals. In an uplifting moment, the Steelers Facetimed with their teammate following Sunday night’s exciting win over the Ravens.
“We’ve been waiting for that breakout game for the offense, and it came on Sunday night,” Cowher said of Pittsburgh’s 39-38 win, which included 506 passing yards from Ben Roethlisberger.
“And you wonder if it was a feeling you’re starting to get with this team: The defense got us here, but we lost our leader in Ryan Shazier. He’s been an inspiration to us, now let’s take this thing home, almost a passing of the baton. It’s time for this offense to carry us.”
The Steelers have not been able to do that in recent matchups with New England, losing four straight — including last season’s AFC Championship game. The two teams appear to be on a collision course for a rematch, and the winner of this game will likely determine where that game is played.
“Tom Brady, you start getting into the playoffs and this time of year, they are so flawless,” Cowher said of Bill Belichick’s team. “They don’t beat themselves. You have to play good situational football and you have to be patient.
“Sometimes a punt is not a bad thing, and you are going to have to tackle well against New England. Tom is not going to throw the ball down the field a lot. It’s going to be about tackling Dion Lewis, James White, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski. Tom has always been a very patient quarterback. This will be a chess match. There won’t be anything different here.”
The Steelers’ offense has been pretty flawless itself lately at home, putting up nearly 37 points per game in the team’s past three wins at Heinz Field. Le’Veon Bell is shredding defenses per usual, and Antonio Brown is having an MVP-caliber season.
“They are healthy. They are going to get JuJu Smith-Schuster back this week, their offensive line has played really well, Ben’s numbers since that five-interception game [Week 5 vs. the Jaguars] have been outstanding, He’s taken what they’ve given him,” Cowher said.
“They’ve been able to incorporate Martavis Bryant at the appropriate times and Le’Veon Bell has been really healthy all season.”
