Early look at the Detroit Lions 2017 opponents: Pittsburgh Steelers

In Week eight of the season the Lions will be coming off their bye week. an extra week to prepare and heal up could be a god send for the team. They face the Pittsburgh Steelers after the break.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of those teams that are always good. At least since the 1980s, they have not gone through a prolonged period of not being a solid team. They hire coaches that nobody thinks are ready, and they win Super Bowls with them. They let endless veteran players walk out the door in free agency, and usually have a budding superstar waiting in the wings.

I do not think there is a team in the NFL that has a more different history from the Detroit Lions than the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers spent the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s as losers. They had occasional winning seasons, but they never strung together a series of good seasons. In fact, before the 1970s the Steelers had consecutive winning seasons only twice.

All that Changed in 1972. The Steelers ripped up the NFL with nine consecutive winning seasons and four Super Bowls in the 70s. So great were those Steeler teams that players from those rosters are still recognized by fans today. From 1972 onward, the Steelers have had consecutive losing seasons only twice.

This iteration of the Pittsburgh Steelers is not as good as the legendary Steeler teams, but it has a solid core group that has been successful before, and look to repeat that success. They finished 11-5 in 2016 and earned a division title. They fell to the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots 36-17 in the conference Championship. There was legitimate talk that Ben Roethlisberger might hang up his cleats this offseason. The team has had double digit wins in each of the last three seasons. Here is a position by position look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Lions’ week eight opponent.