Let me guess, you read the title of this article and have decided that I’ve gone crazy. I can understand your concern. One might think there should be a plethora of “…yeah, but…” statements following the Steelers win against the Giants. It was tied up at halftime, the offense had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns, and it was a one score game going into the final two minutes.

A pessimistic person, present company included as I consider myself to be the Grand Poobah and Supreme Leader of the Pessimistic Society, would read that game summary and think same old Steelers or typical Tomlin letdown game.

Looking back at the last few seasons, that would be exactly what I expected of the Steelers. I went into every game, no matter how bad the opponent was perceived to be, convinced it would take a perfect game or lucky breaks to win a close, down to the wire contest. I was not surprised at all when they lost. Grand Poobah, remember? If the Steelers had played the Jets and Giants back to back last year, I would have fully expected them to drop one or both games.

Now, however, The Pessimist Society and I would be wrong. These recent games have shown that the team has taken huge strides in just two weeks and is on the verge of something special if they continue this growth.

How many times have you been watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and the score is close at halftime, or they are even trailing by a couple of points? You are rooting against them, because of course you are…what person in their right mind would want the Chiefs to win a game? Even though KC is down and hasn’t been playing all that great, you know in your gut that it’s too good to be true, and sure enough, by the time the clock shows goose eggs in the fourth quarter, they’ve won again. They don’t play great all the time, but they play great when they have to, and that’s what good teams do. They aren’t fragile. They don’t need a perfect game to win.

It’s not winning ugly. We’ve seen that for years. It’s winning pretty with an offense that can apply constant pressure and put together a scoring drive at any moment. Pressure bursts pipes, and it breaks defenses if you never turn the dial down.

Just the threat of Russell Wilson being able to make plays downfield has changed this team. Najee Harris just didn’t suddenly figure out how to run. Defenses can no longer put every defender in the box, and if they do, the team does this weird thing now where Wilson will call an audible and change the play or set the protections so that the run has a chance to succeed. They no longer run Najee into a brick wall over and over expecting some miracle to change the result. A third and long now could be a big play for a touchdown instead of checkdown for no gain. Monday night, we even saw a screen play that went for big yards and picked up a first down! Who even remembered that was a thing?

This game was close on the scoreboard, but it wasn’t from lack of execution. Plays worked, but fluke happenstances took away touchdowns. Broderick Jones and his big bearpaw mitts catching a facemask took away a pretty touchdown pass, and Pickens getting two feet down but not the right two feet down in the end zone also removed points from the scoreboard. Even with those setbacks, as I was watching the game, I finally understood what it feels like to be a Chiefs fan. A setback like a penalty or a funny bounce of the ball no longer means the team missed their one chance and will now lose in a heartbreaker. The Steelers offense can now apply constant pressure, and sooner or later, the pipe will fail, and the other team’s basement will be flooded.

Even with the defense not having a good day against the run, I never felt like the game was slipping out of control. Things like that are to be expected against a team they aren’t familiar with, and if you listened to Jeff Hartman’s Behind The Enemy Lines podcast last Friday, the guest told us to watch out for running back Tyrone Tracy, and he was not wrong. That is another reason I am forgoing my pessimistic ways, because recent Pittsburgh Steelers teams would not win a game where the defense gave up that much on the ground.

Please don’t get this twisted. I am not saying the Steelers are as good as the Chiefs after a two game sample size. I may no longer be pessimistic, but I haven’t totally lost my mind yet. But they are showing Chief like tendencies, where they now have an offense that makes the other team defend the entire field instead of a five yard box and can constantly put stress on the opposing defenses with extended drives.

If I had been shown the list of injuries for the first half of the season and then told this team would be 6-2 at the break, I would not have believed it. After the bye, several key players could be coming back. Russell Wilson will only improve with more playing time in this system, and the defense giving up large run totals should only be an anomaly that I’m sure Coach Tomlin will be addressing in the off-week. No, the Steelers are not as good as the Chiefs right now. However, they are looking like a team that can win a playoff game and at least make teams nervous in the postseason.

That’s enough for me to tear up my Pessimist Club membership card and start looking on the upside for once. I’ve had enough years of expecting the worst to happen and being bored out of my mind watching predictable offensive play end in countless three and outs. It doesn’t matter if the team isn’t the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Enjoying a season of football is about the journey, not the destination. Now Steeler Nation has a team that can provide excitement and provide some “what if” hopes and dreams. The second half of the schedule is crazy hard, no doubt about it. There are no easy games. I’m as optimistic about it as I’ve been in a long, long time, and isn’t that the whole point of being a fan?