In the NFL, there are only 17 games, so there's really no such thing as a "must-win" game. They all really are games that you have to have if you want to have postseason plans.
But after starting 1-3, the Steelers' 27-19 win over the Broncos was about as "must-win" as games get in October. This was one the Steelers had to get, especially considering who it came against.
Now, at 2-3, the Steelers have set themselves up to remain relevant the rest of the season in what is a semi-open AFC playoff race.
At this point, the Bills, whom the Steelers are the only team to beat, and the Chargers look like the class of the conference, though it wouldn't surprise to see the Chiefs, even at 2-3, force their way back into that conversation.
The Browns and Ravens look like they'll certainly be playoff teams, as well, while somebody will come out of the AFC South as a division winner.
Beyond that, who is that seventh playoff team?
The Bengals? The Broncos? The Steelers?
Maybe. The game against the Broncos set the Steelers up with a key tiebreaker in that kind of situation. They now have a head-to-head win over Denver. And even though they lost to the Bengals during that 1-3 start, they'll get another opportunity to even that score later in the year.
The Steelers host the Russell Wilson-less Seahawks Sunday. Win that one and they're back at 3-3. Then they have their bye week before returning to play the Browns in Cleveland. After that, it's the Bears and Lions in back-to-back weeks.
There's no reason the Steelers shouldn't be above .500 at that point, barring an utter collapse.
Sure, the schedule gets more difficult after that. But after watching the offensive line's improved play on Sunday against the Broncos, it was certainly a big step in the right direction.
• The Steelers allowed 229 yards and 13 points on 40 plays to the Broncos on their final three drives Sunday, mostly in the fourth quarter. They gave up 374 yards overall in the game, meaning they allowed Denver 148 yards on its first 28 plays.
What the heck happened?
I have a couple of theories that tie in together about that.
First, the more your defense is on the field, the more the opposing offensive coordinator figures out what it is you're trying to do.
It's happening all over the league. For example, the Browns and Chargers on Sunday combined to score 41 points in the final 15 minutes of Los Angeles' 47-42 win over the Cleveland. Once the opposing coordinator knows what your checks are when he shows a certain package, it's game on. And no matter how talented your defense happens to be, the game is set up for the offense to win.
Secondly, desperation starts to sink in. The Broncos opened the fourth quarter by converting a fourth-and-5 -- by an inch -- from their own 49. They later converted a pair of fourth-and-2 plays from the Pittsburgh 28 and then the 2, the latter being a touchdown pass.
That was because they trailed 24-6 at that point. Desperation makes you do things you wouldn't normally attempt.
In that case, had Denver faced a fourth-and-5 from its own 49 in, say, the first quarter, Vic Fangio sends his punter onto the field. On fourth-and-2 in those other situations, he kicks a field goal earlier in the game.
That's exactly what happened earlier when he kicked a field goal facing fourth-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 21 in the first quarter after a strip-sack of Ben Roethlisberger and a fourth-and-goal from the 11 in the second quarter. He took the points and kicked. He also punted from the Pittsburgh 49 and 47 on later drives because the game wasn't out of hand and he wanted to play to field position.
• Speaking of defense, while everyone is complaining about the Steelers, did you happen to notice what the Ravens, Browns and Bengals did last Sunday?
While the Steelers were allowing 374 total yards, the Bengals gave up 466 total yards, the Browns 493 and the Ravens 513.
When did the AFC North become the Big 12?
• Matt Canada challenged the Steelers offensive line last week to show that it could be a good unit and it showed up against the Broncos, paving the way for Najee Harris to gain 122 yards and the running game as a whole to post 147.
He's at it again this week.
"Coach Canada literally just walked out and said that same thing," Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning. "‘We challenged you guys,’ said a couple of names specifically. ‘We challenged you and you stepped up. Now the key is not take a step back. We know what you can do, and not you’ve got to keep doing it.’"
You can bet right tackle Chuks Okorafor was one of those guys Canada again challenged specifically, especially because he was set to face Von Miller.
Okorafor has been a favorite of critics to single out for poor play in the Steelers' 1-3 start, even though he didn't play in a Week 4 loss at Green Bay. But he was hardly the only culprit, or even the biggest one. While Okorafor leads the Steelers with four penalties this season, three false starts and an illegal formation call, the illegal formation call wasn't necessarily on him. That's more on the guys lined up outside of him.
Okorafor hasn't been penalized for holding once this season. He and right guard Trai Turner are the only offensive linemen who haven't been penalized for holding yet this season. Rookie center Kendrick Green has three holding calls against him, while left guard Kevin Dotson has two and rookie left tackle Dan Moore one.
According to Pro Football Focus, Okorafor has yet to allow a sack this season on 229 offensive snaps. According to the same site, Moore has given up two directly, Dotson and Turner one each and Green also has not allowed a sack. Now, those are in straight up blocking situations. There are times when the defense runs a stunt or sends an unblocked defender when they get to the quarterback.
But saying Okorafor has been the weakest link just isn't true. Which is why the Steelers aren't rushing Zach Banner back from injured reserve and simply plugging him into the lineup. The offensive linemen have all had their good and bad moments.
• Okorafor admitted Wednesday that he had moved over and played some left tackle during practices last week as he was coming back from a concussion. But ultimately the coaching staff decided to keep him on the right side and Moore on the left -- at least for now.
However, left tackle is Okorafor's more natural position.
I asked him what that dynamic is like, knowing Banner is coming back and that he's a natural right tackle.
"That's the business part of things," said Okorafor, who is close friends with Banner.
I don't expect a change there this week, but it wouldn't surprise if the Steelers line up in Cleveland with Banner at right tackle and perhaps Okorafor at left knowing Myles Garrett awaits.
• Roethlisberger has targeted the tight ends 27 times thus far this season, with Pat Freiermuth and Eric Ebron getting 11 each and Zach Gentry getting five targets.
He has 19 completions for 158 yards and a touchdown to the tight ends.
With JuJu Smith-Schuster done for the season, that number should go up -- considerably.
"I think you’ll see probably some different utilization of the tight ends and running backs in there," Roethlisberger said Wednesday.
Freiermuth, in particular, should see an uptick in action.
He's caught 11 of the 13 passes thrown his way for 100 yards. The Steelers had a first-round grade on him and felt fortunate to get him in the second round. But thus far, he's played just five more snaps (156-151) than Ebron.
"I think he’s doing a really good job and I probably need to do a better job of getting him involved more because I trust him," Roethlisberger said. "He’s in the right spot. I think he had a couple of big third down catches last week. It’s on me to get him more involved. I need to start making a more conscious effort to do that."
• New practice squad defensive tackle Isaiah Mack looks like a classic nose tackle. He's listed at 6-foot-1, 299 pounds, about 200 pounds of which is located from his waist down.
Mack has appeared in 21 career games and made a start -- back in 2019 for the Titans. He has 11 career tackles and 1.5 sacks.
This is the beauty of the new practice squad rules. You can stash a player like that, or freshly signed Anthony Miller on there and see how they work out.
In fact, with the addition of Miller this week, the Steelers have two former first-round picks in edge rusher Taco Charlton and safety Karl Joseph, and a second-round pick in Miller on the practice squad.
In fact, between those three players there are 157 collective games of NFL experience, including 79 starts. That's valuable.
• Funny how the Roethlisberger critics have been silent this week. All we heard the previous two weeks was how he was done.
That will pick back up the next time he has a bad game or the Steelers lose.
• Opposing quarterbacks have completed 8 of 16 passes for 78 yards and one touchdown when targeting strong safety Terrell Edmunds. His passer rating allowed in those instances, according to Pro Football Reference is a team-best 58.9.
That includes being lined up for several snaps on Davante Adams a couple of weeks ago against the Packers.
But I still see people saying he stinks and needs to be benched. Their reasoning?
The Steelers didn't pick up his fifth-year option.
Here's the deal, they didn't pick up his option because they didn't want to tie up more than $20 million at the safety position next year between Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick, not because they don't like Edmunds.
They'll try to sign Edmunds to a long-term deal after this season.
• Devin Bush was out on the practice field again on Wednesday after leaving the win over the Broncos with a groin injury. Cam Sutton was back, too.
It looks like the defense might be at close to full strength for the upcoming game against the Seahawks. And then the bye awaits.