The Steelers overcame injuries to key players, Ben Roethlisberger's inconsistency and the drama around Martavis Bryant to go 6-2 in the season's first half, emerging as one of, if not the best, team in the conference.
The bye week offered time for self-evaluation, but more importantly, it gave their mauling right tackle and dynamic defensive end more time to recover from injuries.
Right tackle Marcus Gilbert and defensive end Stephon Tuitt practiced Monday at Rooney Sports Complex and all signs point to them playing Sunday against the Colts, strengthening two units that have been the foundation of the team's success.
Although both players expressed frustration with missing time, there is a strong sense of relief across the Steelers' locker room that the roster emerged from the first half without any serious injuries.
"Knock on wood," Tuitt said with a smile, adding that his back felt great Monday. "I’m gonna knock on all this wood in here. Relatively our team did what we were supposed to do. ... To be in the position we are now, we just have to finish strong and we have to do that one week at a time."
Yes, the Steelers are atop the AFC North without a difficult road ahead in the second half. Games against the Packers and Texans would have been tests, but both lost their starting quarterbacks to season-ending injuries. The Steelers have already proven to be stronger than the rest of the division.
They could very well be favored in each of their final eight games, barring any unforeseen injuries. However, this group's confidence only grew after it watched Tyson Alualu and LT Walton perform well in Tuitt's stead. The same goes for Chris Hubbard at right tackle.
After all, the Steelers were without Tuitt and Gilbert, who took half the reps on the first-team offense Monday, for much of the first half.
Tuitt, who is only 24 years old despite being in his fourth season, missed the past two games because of the back injury sustained while working out after the Steelers' victory over the Chiefs in Week 6. That occurred after he missed two games because of a biceps injury suffered on his second snap in the season opener against the Browns.
During the three games he started and finished, Tuitt was outstanding, often occupying multiple blockers for a defense that ranks fourth in the NFL in sacks. The back injury was a minor setback — one that Tuitt said resulted from his propensity to "go hard" at all times — but he made enough progress to potentially play against the Lions prior to the bye week.
However, the Steelers chose to rest him for the second half, which includes seven AFC teams. It also helped that Alualu and Walton were able to contribute. Alualu, who was signed as a free agent in March after not missing a game in five seasons with the Jaguars, showed at times why he was once selected 10th overall in the 2010 draft.
As valuable as Alualu was, Keith Butler said it's difficult to replace Tuitt.
"(Alualu) helps us," Butler said prior to the Steelers' win over the Lions. "He's a good pass rusher. I think he has helped us and I'm glad we do have him. As much as I like to have him, I want to have Tuitt."
Gilbert has a similar impact on the offense. Todd Haley called the 29-year-old one of the top tackles in the league and Gilbert earned that reputation while starting 78 games over the past seven seasons.
Gilbert and the Steelers were in negations about a contract extension in August as he prepared to enter the fourth year of a six-year, $30.8 million deal, but those talks never materialized into a contract.
A lingering hamstring injury limited Gilbert to only three games in the first half of the season. He aggravated the injury in the Steelers' win over the Chiefs when he blocked for an offense that ran for 194 yards. Hubbard performed well against the Bengals and Lions, although he suffered a concussion in the second half at Detroit and Matt Feiler, who had not played a snap on offense all season, was forced to finish the game.
Despite Gilbert's absence, the Steelers rank 10th in the NFL in total offense. Le'Veon Bell is third in the league with 760 rushing yards and Antonio Brown has a league-high 835 receiving yards. The Steelers have allowed only 10 sacks, which is tied for the second-fewest in the NFL.
They have faced six of the top 10 defenses in the league in terms of yards allowed and have only three remaining on the schedule: Cleveland, Baltimore and Green Bay. So, Gilbert's return will bolster what has the potential to be the league's top offense.
With the Patriots' defense struggling and Tom Brady without two of his top weapons — Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman — plus the Chiefs looking weaker by the week, the Steelers are viewed by many as the top team in the conference.
Despite the roster being relatively healthy and the defense amidst a breakthrough, the Steelers are trying to avoid the hype, as Gilbert described their next opponent as a potential "trap game."
"We have to tune all the noise out and come into work prepared," he said. "I know a lot of guys took advantage of this bye week to get healthy, just resting their bodies. I think that reflected out there today. Everybody looked good. Everybody was just running to the ball. We just keep our head on straight, tune the noise out, and we’ll be fine."