That...Just...Happened - Steelers - 27 / Redskins - 12

Jonathan "Baby Bus" Dwyer has Sparked This
Steelers Running Game

Domination?  Maybe.  Solid Performance?  Sure.  Luck?  Every Win could be tied to SOME luck in the NFL.  Regardless of the word you want to use to describe this Steelers victory over the Redskins is fine with me, because all roads lead to one thing...a Steelers win.  Those throwback uniforms couldn't distract people from the fact that from the opening whistle the Steelers were simply the better team.  From top to bottom, the Steelers dominated the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage, played sound on both sides of the ball, and made the appropriate plays to get the win. 

I predicted it, and so did everyone else and their brother, and that was that the Steelers would have success in throwing the football against that porous Redskins secondary.  What I didn't see was the offense getting some great push up front and opening up huge running lanes for Jonathan "Baby Bus" Dwyer.  Dwyer rushed for his second straight 100+ yard rushing game...the first since "Fast" Willie Parker did it in 2008.  Its been since 2008 that the Steelers have had a back to back 100yd rushing performance.  That statistic alone speaks volumes of this team, the teams in the past, and the offensive line that seems to slowly becoming a strength for this Steelers team.  Fellow contributor, Chris Haney (@CHaney43) just wrote an article about that very topic for the site. 

At one time the Offensive Line was much maligned and ridiculed amongst the NFL, but lets take a quick look at this group.  Its hard to believe this is a group dealing with injuries.  Mike Adams had another strong performance at right tackle while the starter, Marcus Gilbert, comes back from injury.  Ramon Foster has started every game this season while rookie right guard, David Decastro, continues to recover from his knee injury.  Just imagine what this line (and the depth) could look like when everyone is healthy.  Max Starks at LT (hes the guy until he retires), Willie Colon at LG, Pouncey at C, David Decastro at RG, and Marcus Gilbert at RT.  That leaves Legursky, Foster, and Adams (all viable starters) as your offensive line depth.  This isn't the OLine the Steelers have put on the field the last 4 years thats for sure. 

The Offensive Line is just a small part of the offense that has become lethal.  It isn't the big play offense we are used to seeing from Big Ben and company.  Its an offense that possesses the ball, moves the chains, and converts long drives into points.  The way the offense opened the game with a great time consuming TD drive, I immediately said to anyone who would listen "Its going to be a long day for the Redskins.", and it was.  The offense that is balanced is a tough offense to defend, and right now, that is exactly what the Steelers have right now.

The Defense has turned vanilla, and I'm okay with that.  You should be okay with that too.  The coaches are coaching the players they have in the game, not the ones standing on the sidelines.  There aren't as many QB pressures, turnovers, etc...but thats okay because the defense is doing its job.  They are slowing the opposition down enough to get off the field, or hold the opponent to FGs.  With the Steelers offense averaging almost 28 points a game, the defense doesn't have to hold teams to under 10 points like they did in the mid 2000s.  I give the coaching staff alot of credit for the last two wins in terms of the defense being a major part of the victory.

Whats next??  The Steelers travel to Metlife Stadium to play the world champion New York Giants.  The Giants are coming off a thrilling victory over the Dallas Cowboys.  The Steelers typically play up to their opponents, and this should be a big matchup.  More analysis and breakdown of the Giants game coming later this week...in the meantime, enjoy the Steelers victory over the Redskins!