Just enjoy the wins

Photo creds to ESPN.com 

By: Joe Smeltzer
Sunday's game in Indianapolis looked like so many others that Steelers fans have seen over the past three years.
Pittsburgh was playing on the road against a bad team and riding a three-game winning streak. So of course, the Steelers came out flat.
After three quarters, Pittsburgh was down, 17-9. Last year, this would have been a loss. Two months ago, this would have been a loss. But as sloppy as Sunday's game was for Pittsburgh, and as lucky as the Steelers were to get the W against a terrible Indianapolis team, this game signified that these are not the "same old Steelers." Or did it?
The Steelers are in a curious situation right now. They are 7-2, have won 16 of their past 19 games, and currently battling with New Englandto take the top seed in the AFC. That's pretty good, right? But it feels like for as much as the Steelers win, the outlook is gloomier than one would think. Pittsburgh still havsglaring holes.  The offense is not scoring the way it used to. Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley's sideline spat Sunday illustrated that. The defense has been fantastic all year, but their Steelers top corner, Joe Haden, is injured, so Coty Sensabaugh will have to step up for the time being. Pittsburgh is winning games, but hasn't looked dominant doing it, and has benefitted from a pretty weak schedule. My question is; why is the Steelers taking advantage of playing bad teams a negative?
We've heard so much over the past few years about the Steelers and, depending on who you talk to, Mike Tomlin specificially not being able to beat bad teams. If Pittsburgh beat clubs with worse records in recent years, it would have been the top seed in the AFC at least once, and probably wouldn't have had to go to Foxborough this January for the AFC title game. The Steelers have beaten four sub-500 teams this season,  and with four more on the schedule to close out the years, it is bigger than ever for the Pittsburgh to beat sub-par franchises.
It's not like Pittsburgh hasn't had impressive wins this season. The Steelers pounded a Minnesota team that is now 7-2. They beat Kansas City in Arrowhead, and they won a game in Detroit against an above .500 club in a game that, like Indy, the Steelers didn't play well, but still came away with a W.
For those complaining about the Pittsburgh's poor strength of schedule, it's about to get even worse. Of Pittsburgh's seven remaining games, three are against teams with winning records. Not only does Pittsburgh  have the benefit of playing all three of those teams at home, but it also has glaring advantages in two of the three games. Pittsburgh is  better than the Tennessee, who it faces at Heinz Field Thursday night, and the 5-4 Packers are without Aaron Rodgers. That leaves mighty New England eight days before Christmas, a game that will likely determine who gets the top seed in the AFC.
So to break it down, the Steelers will play three games against teams north of .500, with one of those games against an inferior opponent, and the other against a club without one of the best quarterbacks in league history. That leaves four dates with crap competition, with three being against divisional opponents, and of course, Belichick and Brady. Aside from New England, the Steelers shouldn't have much issue winning the rest of their remaining games. That is if they have learned to beat crap competition.
I get that the Steelers haven't yet proven themselves as anything more than a good football team. I understand that Big Ben isn't young anymore, and the offense doesn't have the flair that it did for the past five years.  But the facts are that the Steelers are 7-2. They have three quality wins against winning teams, and most importantly, they are at the top of the AFC.So fans, please let the players and coaches figure out the issues. While they do that, how about we just enjoy that we get to watch a successful franchise every week? Being 7-2 ain't isn't so bad, guys.