Steelers Bye Week Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-4 through 10 games and headed into their bye in Week 11. The timing couldn't have been better.

Late-season bye weeks are always welcomed, especially for teams like the Steelers who are firmly in the playoff picture. But there are added benefits to the Steelers' week off aside from the typical rest and relaxation the time away affords the players and, to a lesser extent, the coaches.

The foremost concern is the health of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger suffered a mid-foot sprain in Week 9 that the Steelers had expected would keep him sidelined for at least one game. But after a week of being limited in practices, the team determined that Roethlisberger was comfortable enough to serve as the backup to Landry Jones.

Jones, though, exited Week 10's game against the Cleveland Browns with an ankle injury, forcing Roethlisberger into action. While he was highly effective, setting the NFL record for passing yards by a quarterback coming off the bench with 379 in the 30-9 win, it was obvious his mobility was limited by the injury.

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His foot was heavily taped, and he primarily threw the ball after shallow dropbacks. Roethlisberger's scrambling to extend plays was mostly nowhere to be found as the quarterback and the team tried to limit further damage to the foot. A week off will allow the foot to heal further, with the hope being that Roethlisberger will return to his typical self against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12.

The week of rest will also be good for running back DeAngelo Williams. Williams was struggling with foot inflammation after rushing 27 times for 170 yards and two scores along with catching two passes for 55 yards against the Oakland Raiders.

That could have played a factor into why Williams managed only 54 yards on his 17 carries in Week 10 against the Browns' league-worst rushing defense and why he had only one net yard on eight carries in the first three quarters of the game. The Browns certainly did focus on selling out against the run on defense, but Williams' foot didn't make the day any easier for him.

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The bye week also affords the Steelers time to make adjustments on defense. While the Steelers are a top-five team in rushing yards and points allowed, and rank fourth in sacks, with 28, the defense is 27th in passing yards allowed per game. Bend-but-don't-break has served the Steelers well for much of the season, but with the playoffs approaching, those kinds of yards allowed aren't always going to lead to zero points scored.

That doesn't mean the Steelers need to do a wholesale revamp of their secondary or coverage units during the bye. It does mean, though, that the Steelers do have time to assess what is not working versus what is and make tweaks to their strategy.

Granted, Pittsburgh's upcoming slate of opposing quarterbacks isn't as daunting as it seemed a few weeks ago, with the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck not looking likely to take the field in Week 13, an injured Peyton Manning giving way to Brock Osweiler for at least the time being and Joe Flacco unable to get the Baltimore Ravens more than two wins at this point.

Week	Team	Record
12	@ SEA	4-5
13	vs. IND	4-5
14	@ CIN	8-1
15	vs. DEN	7-2
16	@ BAL	2-7
17	@ CLE	2-8

But tuning up the pass coverage now will undoubtedly be a help to the Steelers if or when they make the playoffs, where defense matters even more than during the regular season. And four of their six remaining games are on the road, which puts additional pressure on Pittsburgh's defense.

Indeed, this late-season bye presents the opportunity for the Steelers to make all kinds of tweaks and tuneups on both offense and defense in order to field the strongest possible team during Pittsburgh's playoff push.

There isn't much that needs fixing in Pittsburgh beyond getting Roethlisberger and Williams healthy and improving their lot against the passing game on defense. But this ability to take stock this late in the year and gear up for not just the final six games of the regular season, but also for what lies ahead after that, can only benefit this team.

Just one week's worth of rest and reassessment can do wonders for the Steelers as they approach the most pivotal part of their season.