Dominant Aerial Attack Makes Steelers Sneaky-Good Pick to Win AFC

Pittsburgh Steelers starters Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Kelvin Beachum, Maurkice Pouncey, Ryan Shazier and Cortez Allen have missed a combined 43 games. Bell, Beachum, Pouncey and Allen remain out indefinitely. And yet the Steelers might be peaking just when Super Bowl contenders want to do so. 

That's scary. 

The supposedly short-handed Steelers demolished the Indianapolis Colts, 45-10, on Sunday night, marking the second straight week in which they outplayed a reigning division champion. 

Pittsburgh lost a hard-fought road game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12, scoring 30 points at CenturyLink Field. Had the team won that, it'd be riding a four-game winning streak entering the final quarter of the 2015 NFL regular season. 

And because the 7-5 Steelers should ride this wave into the playoffs and won't likely catch the 10-2 Cincinnati Bengals, the statements they're making matter. By heating up down the stretch, despite the absence of Bell, Beachum and Pouncey on offense, Pittsburgh is making statements. 

The Steelers have averaged 35.8 points in their last four games, scoring at least 30 in each. Big Ben hasn't been healthy all year, but he's still a superhero. And his sidekicks—November's AFC Offensive Player of the Month, Antonio Brown, as well as smoking-hot No. 2 and No. 3 receivers Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton—almost make it unfair. 

Those three combined for 15 catches, 282 yards and four touchdowns Sunday night against the Colts. Oh, and Brown scored on a 71-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. 

With those weapons, the Steelers entered Week 13 ranked sixth in passing yards per game and third in passing yards per attempt, despite the fact their Pro Bowl quarterback has missed more than 30 percent of their games. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News described the Steelers as "the best in the AFC" at the moment:

But it's not just about Roethlisberger and the aerial attack. Old man DeAngelo Williams continues to rock in place of the injured Bell. Despite the fact the 32-year-old is the oldest starting running back in football, he's gained 686 yards from scrimmage on 106 touches in five games since replacing Bell. His yards-per-attempt average of 4.9 ranks fourth among backs with at least 100 carries. 

But there's not an overwhelming amount of pressure on Williams, mainly because defenses like Seattle and Indy have realized they're picking poison. 

Pittsburgh leads the league, by a wide margin, with 19 passing plays of 40-plus yards. 

Team	Total
1. Steelers	19
2. Bengals	11
2. Cardinals	11
2. Browns	11
2. 49ers	11
6. Saints	10
6. Patriots	10
6. Dolphins	10

And yet the Steelers also rank second in the NFL in 20-yard running plays. 

Team	Total
1. Buccaneers	15
2. Steelers	14
2. Bills	14
4. Rams	13
5. Eagles	10
5. Seahawks	10
5. Jets	10

Throw in that a defense that was supposed to be an Achilles' heel has held three of its last five opponents to 16 points or fewer, and the Steelers officially look like a Super Bowl-caliber wild-card team as we enter the home stretch. 

This, after all, is a team that has been there, done that. Roethlisberger, of course, has two championships. The same goes for revitalized 37-year-old linebacker and defensive leader James Harrison, who had three sacks Sunday night. 

This team would be nowhere without its young talent on both sides of the ball—Brown, Bryant, Wheaton, Shazier and Cameron Heyward are all 27 or younger—but it's hard to win on the road in January when you lack experience. Roethlisberger and Harrison were there when this team won the Super Bowl as a wild card in 2005, and head coach Mike Tomlin is a seasoned playoff warrior. 

This team has proved it can go on the road and push Super Bowl-caliber opponents like Seattle and New England close to the brink. And now the Steelers have made an important statement by crushing a high-quality opponent that was gaining confidence with its interim starting quarterback—Matt Hasselbeck. Head coach Mike Tomlin summed up his team's performance in one sentence during his postgame press conference:

As tough as life has been for the Colts this year, they hadn't lost by more than 13 points during the first 13 weeks of the season. And then Sunday happened, and a team that was supposed to be depleted handed Indy its first knockout punch of the year. 

Be afraid, purported AFC heavyweights. Be very afraid.  

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon