Zwen : Pema Lhazen : པདྨ་ལྷ་མཛེས་

We’re all aware of the significance of winning vs. losing when the Steelers take the field. The Steelers’ Week Six victory over Cincinnati was the difference between being only .5 out of the AFC North Division lead instead of being a daunting 2.5 behind. With still a lot of games remaining Pittsburgh Steelers Hats , the playoff contenders and pretenders aren’t Most of the time, Steelers fans know to root for. But here’s a guide to significant matchups and whose losses the Steelers would benefit more from this weekend.If the season ended today, the Steelers would be the eighth seed in the AFC, so there are plenty of teams to root for with the Steelers on the bye. Here are the current AFC playoff standings.Kansas City Chiefs 5-1 (Would win AFC West and get a First Round Bye)New England Patriots 4-2 (Would win AFC East and get a First Round Bye)Cincinnati Bengals 4-2 (Would win AFC West and host Wild Card Baltimore)Tennessee Titans 3-3 (Would win AFC South and host Wild Card Los Angeles Chargers)Los Angeles Chargers 4-2 (Would earn Wild Card and travel to Tennessee)Baltimore Ravens 4-2 (Would earn Wild Card and travel to Cincinnati)Miami Dolphins 4-2Pittsburgh Steelers 3-2-1Houston Texans 3-3Jacksonville Jaguars 3-3New York Jets 3-3Cleveland Browns 2-3-1Buffalo Bills 2-4Denver Broncos 2-4Oakland Raiders 1-5Indianapolis Colts 1-5Los Angeles Chargersat Tennessee Titans - Sun 9:30 AM (London)While both teams are ahead of the Steelers in the playoff rankings, the Titans are a half-of-a-game behind Pittsburgh. The Chargers are also on a roll and are a bigger threat in the WC race. Therefore, I’m pulling for Mike Vrabel’s team in this contest.Who to root for: TennesseeHouston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars - Sunday 1 PM The winner of this matchup could find themselves in first place in the AFC South. The loser will find themselves slipping down the rankings, with a lot of ground to make up. The Steelers recent history against the Jags has been disconcerting. Even though Pittsburgh plays Jacksonville in November, facing them in January again would be less than desired. Go Texans!Who to root for: HoustonNew England Patriots at Chicago Bears - Sunday 1 PMIt’s Brady. It’s Belichick. It’s Edelman, Gronk, Hightower and Hogan. It’s obvious. Da Bears.Who to root for: ChicagoCleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Sunday 1 PMCleveland fell back to earth last week and a game behind the Steelers in the division. Another loss a week before their rematchwould be cool. But most of all, you always root against the AFC North. Plus it seems natural to bellow “Let’s go Bucs!”.Who to root for: Tampa BayDetroit Lions at Miami Dolphins - Sunday 4:05 PMI’m torn here. Wierd Pittsburgh Steelers Hoodie , huh. Typically you want AFC competition to lose interleague games. But I want to see the Dolphins overtake New England in the AFC East. While unlikely, a guy can dream about Patriot demise. The hope here is to make up WC ground later.Who to root for: Miami New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens - Sunday 4:25 PMAnother no-brainer. Luv ya (the other) Black-and-Gold.Who to root for: New OrleansCincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs - Sunday 8:20The Chiefs finally lost for the initial time last week, but they are still miles in front of Pittsburgh. But most importantly, the Bengal are fast becoming Publuc Enemy #1.Who to root for: Kansas CityAFC Bye-Weekers: Oakland RaidersOther games featuring AFC teams:Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts Sunday 1 PMMinnesota Vikings at New York Jets - Sunday 1 PM The first quarter of the Steelers’ 2018 season was dreadful, terrible and nauseating at best. Thankfully the second quarter yielded a perfect record to top the 1-2-1 start. So as I am tasked to break out the red pen and evaluate the season’s second quarter, I no longer do it from the ledge.As I’ve stated all along, I’m not a football coach or a teacher, but I play one in blogs and podcasts. Each week of the 2018 exhibition and regular season, I’ve graded the efforts of the Black-and-Gold via “the eye test”. Grading games is an extremely difficult and somewhat thankless task. While the coaches’ grades, of course, are what count the most Youth Customized Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys , the media and fans can’t help but evaluate as well. So you, the reader, get to vote as well. You even get to grade the grader in the comments section.So let’s take a look at BTSC’s perceptions of the defense for the 2018 season’s second quarter:DefenseIn the first quarter of the 2018 season, the Steelers’ defense was ranked 30th in the league in total yards allowed (421 ypg) and 26th with a 29-points per game (ppg) average through four contests. This unit was 29th against the pass (304.75 pypg) and tied for 22nd against the run (115.8 rypg). It was one ofthe worst starts on defense ever in the Steel City.Now at the season’s halfway point, vast improvement has been observed. the Steelers’ defense is currently ranked 12th in the league in total yards allowed (347.9 ypg), aided by giving up only 275.3 ypg in games 5-8. Keith Butler’s crew is 15th by allowing a 23.5 ppg average and a mere 18.5 ppg through the last four contests. The pass defense is ranked 21st against the pass (257.6 pypg) and 6th against the run (90.3 rypg). The incredible improvement occurred due to only allowing opposing passers 210.5 pypg and enemy runners 64.75 rypg on average over the last four games.The scheme was terrible and outdated. Myself and many in Steeler Nation were calling for a new coordinator and Mike Tomlin excusing himself from coaching the defense as well. But the results have been absolutely astounding.The defensive line was subpar with a lack of pressure up front is giving quarterbacks plenty of time to pick apart the secondary. The defensive line of Cam Heyward, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt and a subbing Tyson Alualu and Dan McCullers has rebounded. Especially Tuitt, who went from zero to three sacks in the last three games. Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty ImagesThe middle of the field can still be a feeding frenzy for QBs and TEs. Although Ryan Shazier’s absence is glaring still...Jon Bostic, Vince Williams and L.J. Fort are patrolling much better and playing more solid ball.The OLBs of T.J. Watt (7 sacks) and Alvin “Bud” Dupree (3.5 sacks) have 10.5 sacks combined. Watt has been solid, but gets his sacks in clumps. Bud still overruns quarterbacks www.steelersfootballauthentics.com , but has been coming along very well in the last four games.Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY SportsThe secondary is no longer an absolute mess, but it’s still untidy. The guys who have help shore up this unit are CB Joe Haden, Mike Hilton and S Sean Davis. These guys have performed the best for Tom Bradley’s unit and are the reason for the sudden resurgence. Morgan Burnett’s absence has led to more Terrell Edmunds, who has struggled as a rookie, but is improving every week. Burnett is back and his presence should strengthen the secondary. Coty Sensabaugh and Cam Sutton have been overmatched on the corners, but both are improving, especially the new starter Sensabaugh. Artie Burns has regressed to the point, I worry for his employment. The secondary has only four interceptions all season and that needs to be remedied. Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty ImagesDefensive Valedictorian: Joe Haden and Mike HiltonOverall Offense Grade: B- Custom Green Bay Packers Jerseys