It has been awhile since the last recap and much has changed since then. After a disappointing loss against the Chicago Bears, the Steelers would lose another underwhelming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Since then, the Steelers have found a way to ride the backs of the stellar defense to a four-game winning streak.

During this time, many narratives have come to shape. The Steelers’ drama from the beginning of the season due to the anthem protests seem to be completely in the past. Martavis Bryant wants out of Pittsburgh but the Steelers do not care. The defense keeps making plays when the teams need them to, as opposed to recent years in the past. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the number 2 wide out and will get more snaps and looks than Martavis Bryant. And one of the last ones is that Ben Roethlisberger’s play has the offense’s state in doubt.

With thrilling wins over the Bengals, Chiefs, Lions, and the Colts, This Steeler team has shown that they are on a higher playing field as opposed to the AFC while they still stand in the shadow of the Brady-led Patriots. What does that mean?

The Steelers have shown the league that they deserve to be in the top 5 teams of the league. The much-doubted defense ahead of the season is now looking like they can live up to their alias, “The Steel Curtain.” Ryan Shazier’s quickness has him dominating all over the play, making opposing quarterbacks wonder where in the world he came from. The elevated play of Artie Burns has pleased Steelers’ fans while the Steelers look like big winners with the acquisition of Joe Haden.

Although he will now be out for 3-6 weeks with a broken bone in his leg, He has been elite in coverage on his half of the football field. With games like in Detroit, the confidence the fans have in the defense has quickly risen. The same cannot be said of the offense.

Before the season, the expectations were that the offense would have to carry the developing defense. The opposite has taken place. Ever since Roethlisberger said that he was contemplating retirement, his play has looked different from the standard he set in his illustrious career. The offense is one of the worst in the Red Zone as well only converting less than half of their trips there into touchdowns. Sitting at 7-2, the success that they do have can be traced to the stellar play of the league’s leading receiver and running back, Antonio Brown and Le’veon Bell.

Antonio Brown has made every other receiver look like they are far inferior. Even with the struggling play of Ben, he has amassed 60 catches for 882 yards. If Ben continues to improve later on in the year, the numbers will be even bigger as he has been missed on open routes a couple times earlier. Bell also has put 840 yards on the ground with five touchdowns. His versatility as a receiver has also helped as usual as he has 40 catches for 251 yards.

Crazy (Yet, it makes sense) stat: When Bell runs the ball more than 20 times in a game, the Steelers are undefeated this year.

The message? FEED BELL AND BROWN.

This Steelers team is now headed into a short week where they will face the Titans in Pittsburgh. The major goal that will be repeated throughout the course of the season will be that they need to win the Super Bowl. To get there, they will have to measurably increase the effectiveness of the offense which can be traced to Big Ben’s play and the play calling by Todd Haley in the Red Zone. Until then, the Steelers will have to continue to look up to Brady’s team until they have a chance to prove themselves against them.

On a side note, I have to apologize with the projections below. They don’t move that much due to the high expectations and the 50-50 game against the Patriots. I stand with my projections though as I would like to see them finish 14-2 and but cannot do so until that offense proves to themselves and Pittsburgh that they can go out and do their job.

Preseason projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 1 projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 2 projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 3 projected record: 12-4.

Post Week 4 projected record: 12-3.

Post Week 5 projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 6 projected record: 12-4.

Post Week 7 projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 8 projected record: 13-3.

Post Week 9 projected record: 12-4.

Post Week 10 projected record: 13-3.