You ever have those moments when you’re asleep but not all the way asleep? It’s usually right before the break of dawn. You want to wake up but can’t, and you struggle until you can finally open your eyes.

If you watched the first half of the Steelers Week 2 matchup against the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday afternoon, you may have felt like you were in the middle of one of those dreams you didn’t want to wake up from because it was just so peaceful, calming and euphoric. In your dream, the Steelers had finally awoke from the five-year slumber their offense had been in since Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury in a Week 2 contest vs. the Seahawks.

Russell Wilson was in your dream, only, he wasn’t the Seahawks starting quarterback. No, he was Pittsburgh’s inactive QB and offering encouragement to Justin Fields and Co. Wait, you mean to tell me Fields was the Steelers’ starting quarterback for this Week 2 matchup? The kid from Ohio State? Wow, what a dream you were having. Also, what about that 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that was helped along by a perfect 14-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth. What great hands by the new money man from Penn State. And what excellent touch on that pass to tight end Darnell Washington for a touchdown on third and goal from the five. Normally, Pittsburgh would have to settle for three there, but Fields was just so on during this drive, and it culminated in that pretty touch pass.  Later in the dream, during a possession that looked like it was about to go the distance after starting at the one, Fields found receiver George Pickens on the prettiest 51-yard pass you ever saw down to the Denver six. But, wait! Right tackle Broderick Jones was called for holding on the play. It was Jones’s second holding penalty on the drive.

You start to struggle to wake up. You begin to do that thing where you thrash around until you force yourself into consciousness.

Punt.

Sure, Pittsburgh did score a touchdown earlier, but it wasn’t a dream. It was just a drive. You soon realize that the Steelers’ offensive struggles are still a reality.

Speaking of reality, I’ll stop with the dream stuff for now and tell you that the Steelers did win by a score of 13-6 on Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh is now 2-0 on the season. Is that something you can feel good about? Sure, it is. After all, Pittsburgh hasn’t won its first two games since 2020.

The sad part is, you may have to come to grips with the fact that what you witnessed following that touchdown drive late in the first period–the first and only one through eight quarters of the 2024 campaign–is an offense that just doesn’t have the personnel to ever be anything approaching a juggernaut.

Don’t get me wrong, the first half looked encouraging; Pittsburgh went into the locker room with a 10-0 lead. Fields completed 10 of 12 passes over the first 30 minutes of action and would have certainly had better numbers if not for two penalties that wiped out huge plays to Pickens–in addition to Jones’s holding penalty that canceled the 51-yard pass midway through the second period, a touchdown to Pickens with just seconds to go before halftime was nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty on receiver Van Jefferson.

The Steelers appeared to be on their way to a methodically dominant victory highlighted by the coming out party of one Justin Fields.

Then, the second half started, and Fields was ordinary. Ten of 12 turned into 12 of 20 for just 117 yards and the lone touchdown to Washington. Pittsburgh only gained 94 yards and three points after the break.

Penalties on both sides of the ball, but particularly on the offensive side, continued to muddy the waters and keep Denver in the game. Fortunately, the defense was up to the task for a second straight week. T.J. Watt and Co. spent the first game making life miserable for veteran Kirk Cousin. On Sunday, Teryl Austin’s crew made rookie Bo Nix wish he never got out of bed. Nix may have completed 20 of 35 passes for 246 yards, but if you watched Sunday’s game, you know he was still the second-best quarterback on the field.

Fact is, the defense so thoroughly shut down Denver’s running game–the Broncos tallied just 64 yards on 19 carries–that head coach Sean Payton had little choice but to call a bunch of pass plays.

There was a brief moment in the third quarter when it looked like the Broncos would make a serious go of it. This was thanks to a 49-yard pass from Nix to receiver Josh Reynolds on a flea-flicker that began from the wildcat formation. But on second and goal from the six, cornerback Cory Trice, briefly filling in for an injured Donte Jackson, ended that threat with an end zone interception.

Chris Boswell kicked a second field goal to make it 13-0, while Denver’s Wil Lutz answered with two of his own to keep things sort of interesting.

But the Steelers never felt like they were in serious danger of losing on Sunday; a victory seemed all but certain even before Damontae Kazee officially ended things with an interception with no time left. They won the game exactly like everyone expected they would: By eliminating mistakes (well, turnover mistakes), dominating on the ground (141 rushing yards on 36 carries) and with their defense.

Again, Fields’s first-half performance may have given you hope that this game would be different and offer a glimpse of what the offense could look like with this talented, young quarterback hitting on all cylinders. But it’s not just about the quarterback…obviously. It’s about execution by all involved–including the offensive line, skill-position players and, yes, the OC. Also, those penalties–the Steelers were called for 10–will never help anyone do anything.

Maybe this is just who the Steelers are and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Is it good enough? It is, right now. Pittsburgh is 2-0 and all alone in first place in the AFC North.

Before the season started, everyone said the Steelers would have to stack wins early because things would be tough late.

The Steelers have done just that.

Is it sustainable?

It has been so far.

The Steelers are 2-0. What more can you ask for? I know, points, but we may never get to that point.

But a win is a win. 2-0 is 2-0. And first place is first place.