Sunday’s win over the New York Jets has one analyst thinking plenty more victories are in store for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So much so that ESPN analyst Evan Cohen believes Week 8’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers could be a showdown of two undefeated teams.
“Through October 26th, Packers at Steelers, both teams undefeated,” Cohen said on Unsportsmanlike Tuesday morning. “Look at the schedules, ladies and gentlemen. It’s not impossible.”
Cohen’s certainly one to throw around a hot take, and his strong reaction to Week 1 doesn’t come as a shock. Green Bay was the more impressive team of the two, routing the Detroit Lions while Pittsburgh showed flaws even in a victory over New York.
Even if not undefeated, the Packers and Steelers boasting impressive records leading into Week 8 would make for one heck of a storyline. A Sunday night primetime game, it’ll be QB Aaron Rodgers’ first game against Green Bay, the organization that drafted him in 2005 and where he played for 18 years. Even after Week 1’s win, Rodgers noted playing the Jets won’t have the feeling facing the Packers will.
“I really only played 18 games here,” Rodgers told reporters postgame when asked about his feeling returning to New York. “So I was actually talking to [RB Breece Hall] about that pre-game. He said, ‘How’s it feel?’ I said, ‘Honestly, I was here for two years.’ But it doesn’t come close to how it’s gonna feel playing Green Bay because that was 18 years of my career.”
Cohen thinks the play of both squads, coupled with their upcoming schedules, bodes well.
“And you believe the Steelers are a version of what they were on Sunday against the Jets,” he said. “And you look at the schedule. Now, the Vikings game feels like it’s gonna be a lot harder than we thought, but it’s not impossible those two teams undefeated. Can we fast forward to that?”
Minnesota rallied to beat the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, a wild primetime game on the heels of an all-timer Sunday night of the Buffalo Bills’ historic comeback over the Baltimore Ravens.
Pittsburgh hosts the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s home opener before taking on the New England Patriots on the road and traveling to Dublin to meet the Minnesota Vikings at the end of a month. Following a Week 5 bye, the Steelers get into divisional play with the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 and the Cincinnati Bengals Week 7. All winnable games on their own, but the odds of Pittsburgh running the table is slim. Especially if the running game and run defense fail to make big strides, two glaring issues coming off the season opener.
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