Jan 1, 2021 5 min read

Did the Steelers figure something out at halftime of their 28-24 win over the Colts last week?

Not really. They just finally opened up their offense. And, lo and behold, they started making plays. Funny how that works.

If the Steelers play like that in the postseason, they’ll be just fine.

In fact, going into this weekend’s games, the only team with a better record than the Steelers’ 4-1 mark against the current AFC playoff field is the Chiefs at 3-0.

Yes, the Chiefs have played just three AFC playoff teams this season.

Those are the only two teams in the AFC playoff field with a winning record against teams in the conference’s field.

The Bills and Titans are each 2-2. The Ravens are 2-4. The Browns are 1-3. The Dolphins are even worse at 0-2.

And even if the Colts get in, they are just 1-3 against the other AFC playoff teams.

So, maybe that Steelers’ schedule wasn’t as soft as some might believe.

• The only thing that was ailing the Steelers offense was the fact Ben Roethlisberger refused to throw the ball down the field in recent weeks.

He did that in the second half against the Colts attacking down the field.

The Steelers rushed for just 20 yards in the game, but here’s the thing, who cares?

There’s an old adage in the NFL that says the more times you throw the ball, the more likely you are to lose.

But the Steelers, Chiefs and Bills have all bucked that trend in 2020.

The Steelers are 7-1 when Roethlisberger throws the ball 40 or more times. The Chiefs are 9-1 when Patrick Mahomes does so. And the Bills are 5-2 when Josh Allen throws it that many times.

Those three teams are 21-4 when their quarterback throws the ball 40 or more times. The rest of the league is 28-79-2.

So, if I’m the Steelers’ head coach, I’m letting Roethlisberger sling it in the playoffs.

• The immediate reaction to the Pirates trading Josh Bell to the Nationals was one of outrage.

After all, how can the Pirates compete in 2021 without Bell?

Here’s the thing: the Pirates weren’t competitive with Bell, who batted .226 with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 57 games in 2020 all while playing below average defense at first base.

This is not to knock Bell. By all accounts, he’s a great guy and a good teammate. But the Pirates didn’t trade Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 here – the greatest swindle of all time.

Bell had a fabulous month of May 2019. Since then, he hadn’t hit his weight – 250 pounds.

To be honest, the Pirates couldn’t afford to trust that Bell’s final four months of 2019 and 2020 season weren’t going to carry over to 2021. And if that happened, his value would have been nil.

They got a pair of top-10 pitching prospects out of the Washington organization and cleared the way for Ke’Bryan Hayes to be an everyday player at third base in 2021. And they still have Colin Moran to play at first base.

It’s not ideal. But neither was Bell’s slump over the past year and a half.

And, again, the Pirates’ hopes of competing in 2021 didn’t hinge on Bell.

This Week’s Games

Steelers (plus 10) against Browns: The expectation here is that Mason Rudolph will perform well in his return to Cleveland for the first time since last year’s unfortunate brawl at the end of Cleveland’s 21-7 win. Remember, Rudolph played the second half of that game with Tevin Jones, Johnny Holton and James Washington as his wide receivers and Jaylen Samuels as his running back because of injuries. The Steelers will be resting some key players, including Roethlisberger, but the pressure is squarely on the Browns. Take the Steelers to cover in a 24-17 loss

Ravens (minus 13) over Bengals: The Ravens have beaten up on some bad opponents down the stretch and will do so again in this game needing the win to get into the playoffs. Baltimore is banged up, particularly in the secondary, but the Ravens need this game and should get it. Take the Ravens, 27-13

Chargers (minus 3) over Chiefs: Pat Mahomes isn’t playing. Instead it will be Chad Henne. And the Chiefs also will be sitting some other players. That doesn’t bode well for a team that hadn’t been blowing the doors off opponents as it is. The Chiefs have won their past seven games by a combined 26 points. Take the Chargers, 27-20

Colts (minus 14) over Jaguars: The Jaguars shocked the Colts in Week 1. They have lost their past 14 games since. But if the Colts fail to make the playoffs – they need to win and get some help – they can point to that loss as the reason why. The Jaguars have mailed it in recently and secured the No. 1 pick in the draft. This should be more of the same. Take the Colts, 31-13

Washington (minus 1) over Eagles: Washington needs to only win this game to capture the NFC East title. The Washington defense should make life very rough on rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. Take Washington, 23-17

Last Week: 3-2 OTS, Overall: 39-36-5

Dale Lolley covers the Steelers for DKPittsburghSports.com and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.