Nov 16, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – You might think that after putting together a solid performance and entering a bye week with a 6-4 record – despite being ranked by ESPN as the team hardest hit by injuries – that the Steelers might be a little content.

Of course, you’d be wrong.

The Steelers enter their bye week after a 30-9 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns and are looking forward to playing better down the stretch, which will include four road trips in six games.

“It will be a great opportunity for us, as we get into the bye, to get some of these bumps and bruises taken care of and be a team that’s on an upward trajectory,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We have some big challenges waiting on the other side.”

At this point, the Steelers might have overcome more challenges than any team in the league.

The good news is, of the six teams remaining on the schedule, only two – Denver and Cincinnati – have winning records.

And two of the Steelers’ upcoming opponents – Denver and Indianapolis – have injury issues at quarterback that could change their outlook dramatically.

The Steelers aren’t likely to catch Cincinnati, which went into Monday night against Houston at 8-0 and a victory over Pittsburgh in hand.

“We’ve won a few games,” tight end Heath Miller said. “There’s certainly room for improvement. We could be more efficient but the good thing is that we’ve won the past two games. We’re going to rest and get healthy. I don’t think we’ve played our best ball.”

When the Steelers play Nov. 29 at Seattle, they figure to have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as healthy as he’s been since Week 3, when he suffered a sprained knee ligament in a win at St. Louis.

Roethlisberger returned from the injury two weeks ago for a win over Oakland but suffered a mid-foot sprain in the fourth quarter of that game. He wasn’t supposed to play against Cleveland and began the game as the backup to Landry Jones, but entered in the first quarter when Jones suffered a sprained ankle.

Showing no sign of injuries, Roethlisberger set an NFL record for passing yards by a quarterback coming off the bench, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns. But the 33-year-old quarterback – and many other Steelers who have been playing through injuries – can use the week off. Because they opened the preseason in the Hall of Fame Game and went 10 weeks before their bye, the Steelers have had a game for 15 consecutive weeks.

“It’s a long time coming and a lot of guys are ready to get some rest,” said Roethlisberger. “We’ve got a heck of a stretch run coming up after the bye. We’re just trying to get as healthy as we can.”

If things work out as the Steelers hope, this might only be the midway point for their season. With the Bengals holding a big lead in the AFC North, the Steelers realistically are looking at entering the playoffs as a wild-card team. They currently hold the top wild-card spot in the AFC. To reach the Super Bowl, they would have to play nine more games with seven of those on the road.

With Roethlisberger getting healthy and an offense that has scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games, the Steelers feel they are rounding into shape.

“I think that’s what we expect out of ourselves,” said Miller. “But I think our best football is in front of us and I’m excited to see what we’re going to do.”

Defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt and Cam Heyward lead the Steelers in sacks with 4 ½ and four respectively. The Steelers have not had two defensive linemen lead them in sacks since Gerald Williams had six in Keith Willis had five in 1990. … Free safety Mike Mitchell had his team-best third interception against the Browns. No Steelers safety has had more than three interceptions since Troy Polamalu had seven in 2010 when he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.