12-27-2021, 09:24 PM
First of all I don't think there is anyone that enjoys beating the Steelers more than me. If I had been older I might have remembered the pre-'72 Steelers who only had 6 winning seasons in their forty year history and were a joke of a franchise. Or if I was younger I would not have had to deal with their success for so long. But I became an NFL fan in the early 70's exactly when they were becoming a dynasty.
Then there was the fact that they almost single handedly ruined the entire Marvin era. The success the Steelers had against Marvin defies logic. Most people don't realize that during the Marvin Era only 5 teams (Phi, Ind, Den, Pitt, NE) had more wins against winning teams than the Bengals 42, but look at the breakdown of the Bengals and Steelers wins.
Bengals had 38 wins against winning teams other than Steelers.
Steelers had 38 wins against winning teams other than Bengals.
Bengals had 4 wins against Steelers when they finished with a winning record.
Steelers had 19 wins against Bengals when they finished with a winning record.
ONE THIRD of all of the Steelers wins against winning teams came against just one team, the Bengals. They were not that much better than us, but they completely dominated us. (8-26)
So I am thrilled that we swept the Steelers, but at the same time I realize that it has been 18 years since the Steelers had a team finish worse than this year's .500 version.
We have had a lot of success against the Ravens. I don't hate them like the Steelers, but I still love sweeping them. However, they were already missing several starters including 2 All-Pros when we played them the first time (LB L.J. Fort, DT Derek Wolfe, RB Gus Edwards, RB J.K. Dobbins, FS DeShon Elliott, All-Pro LT Ronnie Stanley, All-Pro CB Marcus Peters). And this last Sunday they were missing a few more due to Covid. They started their 3rd string QB and 3 of their top 4 CBs had just been called up from the practice squad.
So we owned the Steelers and Ravens this year. Not just a 4-0 sweep, but no game was closer than 14 points and the total score was 147-58. It feels great. But both of these teams will finish around .500. They are not the good teams that had beaten us down for so long. No matter how good the wins feel they are not really a great achievement to brag about.
Then there was the fact that they almost single handedly ruined the entire Marvin era. The success the Steelers had against Marvin defies logic. Most people don't realize that during the Marvin Era only 5 teams (Phi, Ind, Den, Pitt, NE) had more wins against winning teams than the Bengals 42, but look at the breakdown of the Bengals and Steelers wins.
Bengals had 38 wins against winning teams other than Steelers.
Steelers had 38 wins against winning teams other than Bengals.
Bengals had 4 wins against Steelers when they finished with a winning record.
Steelers had 19 wins against Bengals when they finished with a winning record.
ONE THIRD of all of the Steelers wins against winning teams came against just one team, the Bengals. They were not that much better than us, but they completely dominated us. (8-26)
So I am thrilled that we swept the Steelers, but at the same time I realize that it has been 18 years since the Steelers had a team finish worse than this year's .500 version.
We have had a lot of success against the Ravens. I don't hate them like the Steelers, but I still love sweeping them. However, they were already missing several starters including 2 All-Pros when we played them the first time (LB L.J. Fort, DT Derek Wolfe, RB Gus Edwards, RB J.K. Dobbins, FS DeShon Elliott, All-Pro LT Ronnie Stanley, All-Pro CB Marcus Peters). And this last Sunday they were missing a few more due to Covid. They started their 3rd string QB and 3 of their top 4 CBs had just been called up from the practice squad.
So we owned the Steelers and Ravens this year. Not just a 4-0 sweep, but no game was closer than 14 points and the total score was 147-58. It feels great. But both of these teams will finish around .500. They are not the good teams that had beaten us down for so long. No matter how good the wins feel they are not really a great achievement to brag about.
