The Pittsburgh Steelers are wrapping up the bye week and will soon begin preparations to take on the Los Angeles Rams. Pittsburgh has been quiet over the bye after getting a huge comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens giving the Steelers a 3-2 record and the lead in the AFC North. But we are hopeful that behind the scenes, there have been some changes to help this team find its identity on offense, more consistency on defense and a mindset to play harder in these final 12 games.
Here are the five things we expect to see different after the bye week.
CB Joey Porter Jr. in the starting lineup
Will he replace Patrick Peterson or Levi Wallace? That remains to be seen but the whole easing him into the NFL thing is over a month old now and he’s the best cornerback on the roster.
OT Broderick Jones stays the starter
Rookie offensive Broderick Jones had a strong first NFL start last week and we don’t expect him to give that starting job back to Dan Moore anytime soone.
A healthy football team
Pittsburgh went into that Ravens game severely shorthanded due to injuries but the week off should get most of the injured players back and have a team at near full strength in Week Seven.
Continued inconsistency with effort
You don’t change the mindset of a man in a week. It was great seeing the Steelers get up, play more physically and show more heart against Baltimore but no one should think this will happen every week going forward.
Tight end involvement in the offense
When the Steelers coaches put on the film from the first five games, they have to wonder how they didn’t include the tight ends more in the passing offense. A return of Pat Freiermuth will help but it must be a conscious effort of the coaching staff and quarterback Kenny Pickett to get them involved.
