For the past week, the west coast of Florida has been struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Our house sustained damage to the roof and siding — and at this writing, we still don’t have electricity nearly a full week since the storm struck. I was able to watch both the loss to Dallas in Pittsburgh and the Steelers’ road victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. But I’ve spent most of the past week trying to reassemble the pieces back together that Milton has blown away.

While our hands have been full here in central Florida, the Pittsburgh Steelers were giving far-flung fans like myself some sound reasons to keep the faith. During the season’s first six weeks of play, the Black-and-gold have begun to forge a consistent and identifiable character which makes watching their games considerably more enjoyable than had been the case the past two seasons. Sunday’s impressive win over the Raiders put an exclamation mark on the team’s early season surge to a 4-2 record.

While some might have been disappointed when the Steelers were beaten by the Cowboys at home in Week 5, I couldn’t find much to complain about except that I felt we needed better production from the offense, especially in converting third-down situations. Despite the Cowboys’ late comeback, I felt the Steelers played well enough overall to win that game. And the Steelers’ physicality revealed itself in the fact that some of the Cowboys’ key starters were knocked out of the game. Even in defeat, the physical beating administered by the Steelers in the Sunday Night game was enough to turn Dallas into a pushover this past Sunday when they were routed at home by the Lions.

These past two games appear to confirm that, unlike the Steelers’ 2023 edition, it’s going to be a very difficult assignment for any NFL team to dominate the 2024 Black-and-gold. Nowhere was this toughness better exemplified than in the pounding runs of Najee Harris who finished the game with 106 yards and a 7.6-yard average per carry. Early in the second period — on a bruising romp that surely ranks highly in the annals of Steelers football — Harris plowed through multiple tacklers during his 15-yard run straight through the heart of the Raiders’ defense. Harris has consistently shown why he’s the spark-plug for Pittsburgh’s offense.

Quarterback Justin Fields continues to show evidence that he might eventually be viewed as the steal of the offseason trade market. While he misfired on a few throws, Fields didn’t turn over the ball and he added 204 yards of offense (145 yards passing and 59 yards rushing), including two TD runs. Overall, we’ve seen the kind of steady development in the play of Fields that Steelers Nation has been hoping for. While his game remains far from perfect, Fields looks like a guy who learns more with each game under his belt. He’s starting to become a very difficult QB for opposing defenses to handle.

The Steelers’ defense turned in yet another gutty and dominant performance, even in the absence of some key starters. T.J. Watt was his usual, dominant self — forcing two key fumbles including one near the goal line that denied the Raiders a TD. Watt’s rookie teammate Payton Wilson continued to impress, notching six tackles including one for a loss. The Steelers’ secondary also played better against the Raiders than they had done the previous week in Pittsburgh. DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson each made key plays to stop the Raiders’ offense, and Elliott tied Watt with six tackles. Patrick Queen might have turned in his best performance as a Steelers player, notching 13 total tackles including one tackle for a loss.

Given the Steelers’ doggedly tough defense and clearly improved offense, they’ve shown the ability to stay in the game against various opponents. Considering their young and improving OL, there’s a reasonable expectation that, barring unforeseen injuries, the Steelers once again will be a playoff contender. In the meantime, there’s plenty to like about the tough new brand of football that Steelers Nation currently is witnessing.

So far at least, the Steelers offseason moves and selections in the NFL Draft appear to be bearing fruit. As a whole, the team looks even more strongly motivated and they’re developing a reputation for toughness and resilience that looks like a throwback to the teams of Pittsburgh’s glory years.

While we shouldn’t allow our hopes to run wild at this stage of the season, it seems that we’re watching a steady process of development today on the team that Steelers Nation hasn’t witnessed for some time. As the weeks pass by and the Steelers regain the services of more sidelined players, they are beginning to look like a team with real potential.