Coming into this week, the Steelers are 4-2 and tied for first in the AFC North! It’s hard to be too upset about that as a Steelers fan. With that being said, Pittsburgh’s performance certainly was not perfect this past Sunday. Here are some thoughts to their performance in Week 6.

32 Points?! I’ll take that every week.

From an offense that has failed to produce over 24 points in a game through the first 5 weeks of the season, it was refreshing as a fan to see the Steelers put up points and, more importantly, a considerable lead over their opponents. Najee Harris looked great, running hard and even carrying people with him to pick up extra yardage. While he failed to break 200 yards passing, Justin Fields’ two rushing touchdowns once again shows how valuable his dual threat versatility is to this offense. While there is certainly room for improvement, as there always is, the scoreboard suggests that the offensive play was more than enough to bring home a W this week and in a decisive fashion.

Slow Starts Will Not Cut It Down the Stretch

This week, as has happened in several previous weeks, it felt as though Pittsburgh started slow. Only three points were scored in the first quarter, coming on the opening drive. Defensively, permission was granted to the Raiders offense to drive down the field and score a touchdown early. That particular drive reminded me of the opening drive against the Colts offense a few weeks prior.

While execution seemed to improve drastically on both sides of the ball as the game continued, such a slow start certainly shifted momentum early in the game. A similar momentum shift against other squads could certainly prove costly and put the Steelers in a position where they cannot mount a comeback. While I cannot downplay the importance of making adjustments in-game and being successful at doing so, which Pittsburgh was able to do this week, it would be ideal to have faster starts on both sides of the ball.

Should the Steelers Have Resigned Najee in the Offseason?

When the decision was made to decline Najee’s 5th year option in the off-season, I admittedly agreed with that decision. Up to that point, while he had produced three straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, it felt like he didn’t run “hard” or “angry”. Very few of those yards seemed to be accumulated on long, explosive runs that shifted the momentum of games. Perhaps that judgment is not completely fair to Harris, as he has been productive, but to me he hadn’t completely lived up to the expectations of a first-round draft pick who broke many of Derrick Henry’s records at Alabama. While reliability and steady production is great, he had not painted the picture of a premier back in this league through his first 4 seasons, in my opinion. Additionally, Jaylen Warren played great as RB2 last season and did appear a little more explosive off of the line and to run hard. Perhaps at that point, the Steelers had some similar thoughts; let Najee have this year as a prove-it year. If his performance is status-quo but not wowing, then perhaps let him test free agency and know that Jaylen Warren is on the roster to fall back on and potentially feature as RB1 in seasons to come.

With all of that being said, Warren has been dealing with injuries this season, but even so there have been games where he has not been productive. This past Sunday was one of those games. Who stepped up and carried the running game this week? Najee Harris. It wasn’t just that he rushed for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown, but it was the way he played. As mentioned previously, he ran hard, carrying multiple bodies forward for extra yardage. He did have a long, explosive touchdown run. He gave a splash of the type of performance that I as a fan had been hoping to see from him for the past three years. This begs the question: was this past week the exception, or could this be the new norm? If it is the new norm, should Pittsburgh have picked up his 5th year option in the offseason? There certainly is a chance for resigning should the Steelers decide to pursue him, but it is not guaranteed that he will be in black and gold next season. I am intrigued to watch his performance throughout the rest of the season and see if he continues to play in a similar fashion.

Justin Fields, in this Moment, is the Future

There is a lot of noise right now regarding who will suit up as QB1 for the Steelers in Week 7. Based on Russell Wilson taking the first team snaps this week, it seems as though they are leaning that way (which I personally do not agree with, but we’ll see if I’m proven wrong). Regardless, I think Fields showed enough through 6 weeks as the starter to earn a new deal in Pittsburgh next season. It could be argued that Wilson is the better or more finished quarterback at this point, but Russell Wilson is also in his 30s and towards the end of his playing career. Fields, at just 25 years old, got the Steelers to 4-2 and improved drastically from week 1; this is encouraging and leads me to believe that he would continue to improve as he gets more comfortable with his new team and gets even more time with his new coaching staff. He also has a mobile element to his game that has proven to be extremely useful this season, as George Pickens has been inconsistent and a true WR2 still has not emerged on the roster.

Unless Pittsburgh falls in love with a QB in the draft enough to trade up and go get him, I don’t see how Fields doesn’t get a new deal in Pittsburgh next season at this point.

T.J. Watt is More than Just an Elite Pass Rusher

The Pittsburgh faithful have known this for many seasons now, but Watt wrecked the game this week through forced fumbles, NOT through his sack numbers. Two forced fumbles in clutch situations helped lead the Steelers to a victory this week, and it was impressive to watch. T.J. once again is making a case for a second Defensive Player of the Year award and only continues to build his case for a spot in Canton someday. How blessed are we as Steelers fans to be able to watch this man suit up every week?