Where Do Pittsburgh Steelers Stand After 1st Quarter of 2015 Season?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached the quarter mark on their 2015 season, which makes it the perfect time to see where the Steelers stand at this point in the year.

The Steelers have a 2-2 record, but it's still good enough to earn them the No. 2 spot in the AFC North. But the next few weeks will pose difficult tests that could provide insight as to what direction their season will take.

There was a level of uncertainty for the Steelers heading into this season, even though Pittsburgh boasted one of the top offenses in the league in 2014 and was the top team in the division.

This was a result of numerous changes on the defensive side of the ball, starting with Keith Butler taking over coordinator duties for Dick LeBeau and continuing into drafting linebacker Bud Dupree in Round 1, figuring out the replacement for safety Troy Polamalu and trying to find ways to improve against the pass.

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Changes were also afoot on offense, with running back Le'Veon Bell serving a two-game suspension to start the year, receiver Martavis Bryant suspended for the first four games and the Steelers needing to find ways to make up for their respective absences.

To handle the Bell situation, the Steelers picked up veteran free-agent back DeAngelo Williams. At receiver, the team drafted Sammie Coates in Round 3 and also prepared Darrius Heyward-Bey for an expanded receiving role to open the year.

The early returns on defense in the preseason were bleak. The Steelers defense seemed incapable of covering receivers, tight ends or running backs, and the front seven didn't look all that impressive, let alone aggressive. But luckily, that changed once the regular season began.

Though the Steelers have given up over 300 yards to their opponents in three out of four games this year, they have managed a bend-but-don't-break approach that has limited opposition to 75 total points. While opponents are scoring touchdowns on 63.64 percent of their red-zone appearances this year, Pittsburgh is limiting those appearances to an average of just 2.8 per game.

Player	Sacks
Stephon Tuitt	3.5
Cameron Heyward	2.0
Bud Dupree	2.0
Arthur Moats	1.5
Lawrence Timmons	1.0
Will Allen	1.0
Ryan Shazier	1.0
James Harrison	1.0
Sean Spence	1.0
Total	14.0

And most notably, the Steelers have gotten far more stingy when it comes to big plays. Currently, Pittsburgh's defense is the best in the league in opponent plays of 20 or more yards, with five. And though Pro Football Focus notes that Pittsburgh's corners are allowing at least 66.7 percent of the passes thrown their way to be caught, the corners have combined to allow just two passing touchdowns this year.

What is also aiding the secondary this year is that Pittsburgh's front seven is a much better group than it was in 2014 at rushing the passer. Currently, the Steelers have 14 total sacks this year, the fourth-most in the league. Last year, they had only 33 through 16 games; they are most definitely on pace to eclipse that number in 2015.

The pass rush, led by defensive end Stephon Tuitt (3.5 sacks), end Cameron Heyward (two sacks) and Dupree (two sacks), is the one thing the Steelers needed to mask any and all issues they had at cornerback and safety this year, and the returns are promising thus far.

On offense, the Steelers weathered the storm of not having Bell just fine, with Williams rushing 41 times for 204 yards and three scores during Bell's two-game absence. And Heyward-Bey managed to step up without Bryant in the fold, to the tune of 15 catches on 20 targets for 185 yards and two scores.

Obviously, Antonio Brown remains Pittsburgh's top receiver, with 34 receptions for 478 yards and two scores through four games. He also has 152 yards after the catch and is responsible for 22 first downs, a team high. But Brown's streak of at least five catches for at least 50 yards came to an end in Week 4's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and the reason for this is the Steelers' current biggest cause for concern.

In Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered an MCL injury and bone bruise. While the Steelers went on to win the game 12-6 with Mike Vick handling quarterback duties for the remainder of the game, the potential that the Steelers could be without the engine of their offense for as many as six weeks seemed a nearly insurmountable challenge.

The bad news? Vick struggled in a short week of preparation against the Ravens in Week 4's Thursday night game. The good news? The Steelers now have until this upcoming Monday to get Vick more prepared to serve as the starting quarterback. And even better: CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora believes Roethlisberger could be back for the team's Week 7 meeting against the Kansas City Chiefs on October 25, earlier than first was estimated.

Player	Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT	Sack	Rating
Roethlisberger	89	67	75.3%	912	4	2	5	113.1
Vick	32	24	75.0%	162	1	0	6	96.1

Before his injury, Roethlisberger had picked up where he left off in 2014, completing 75.3 percent of his 89 pass attempts for 912 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, leading to a 113.1 passer rating.

Vick, in a truncated version of Pittsburgh's offense, didn't look terrible, completing 75 percent of his 32 pass attempts for 162 yards and a score, though he did take six sacks.

What will help Vick immeasurably in the weeks he has to take Roethlisberger's place are the same things that have assisted in Roethlisberger reaching the prime of his career: the myriad offensive weapons the Steelers boast—from Brown, Bell and Bryant, to tight end Heath Miller, receiver Markus Wheaton and even Heyward-Bey, with whom it's clear Vick is comfortable.

Special teams, however, have been a struggle for the Steelers ever since kicker Shaun Suisham suffered a season-ending leg injury in the team's first preseason game. Pittsburgh first turned to Garrett Hartley, but he also suffered a season-ending injury of his own, leading to the Steelers trading for Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee. 

But with Scobee missing four of his 10 field-goal attempts and one extra point, the Steelers moved on from him over the weekend, signing Chris Boswell after a tryout.

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Boswell has yet to kick in a regular-season game, but the Steelers liked what they saw enough to give him the job. The hope is that he's the last to hold it this year. But at least Pittsburgh's offense has the second-highest red-zone touchdown percentage in the league right now, at 76.92 percent. The Steelers don't need to lean on field goals as they did on many occasions last year. That, of course, does not mean they can afford to miss them, either, as evidenced by Pittsburgh's loss to Baltimore.

As long as the offense can hold down the fort with Vick under center for the next couple of weeks and the defense can continue to bring the pain to opposing quarterbacks, the Steelers should be in good enough shape when Roethlisberger returns to put pressure on the division-leading Bengals. 

There are tough contests ahead, to be sure, including the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, the Chiefs in Week 7, the Bengals in Week 8 and the nagging nemesis Oakland Raiders in Week 9.

But the real problems begin after the Week 11 bye, when the Steelers have to face the likes of the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, the Bengals (again) and the Denver Broncos. They then close out their season with two divisional opponents, both road games against the Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

The margin for error remains thin, and the Steelers can ill afford to take their feet off the gas pedal at any point in the season, lest it means being on the outside of the playoffs looking in come January.

Given the circumstances, Pittsburgh's 2-2 start to the year is not a bad one. And even if the Steelers are 4-4 once the halfway point of the season arrives, they will still be in good shape in terms of both the division and the AFC as a whole.