Emboldened by wins in their past two games and with a chance to pull to within a game of a playoff spot with a victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers are beginning to embrace the potential of a season that teetered on the edge of irrelevancy earlier this month.

Once 1-4, the Steelers can improve to .500 with a third consecutive victory if they can beat the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” said center Maurkice Pouncey, the offense’s captain and the Steelers’ third-longest tenured player. “Obviously, we have been through a lot of adversity in this season so far, and hopefully things turn around for us. Guys are a having good time, guys are locked in.

“This team’s going to be special.”

The 2019 Steelers won’t go down in the annals of franchise lore as one of the best the organization has produced, and they are far from being a championship contender, let alone a playoff team.

After an unexpected start to their Monday night, the #Steelers heard an unfamiliar sound cascade down from the Heinz Field seats. Boos https://t.co/VEvFVwGI8t

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 29, 2019

But Pouncey said the Steelers are embracing the potential feel-good story of coming back from 0-3 and 1-4 starts — with their franchise quarterback out for the season — to make the playoffs.

“Honestly, I have been here 10 years,” said Pouncey, a 2010 first-round pick, “and we never started off fast, so for people to expect that, do your history.”

Since Pouncey’s second season, he has a point:

In 2011, they shrugged off a 35-7 drudging at rival Baltimore in Week 1 and being 2-2 on Oct. 1 to finish 12-4. The Steelers sat at 2-3 through five games in 2012 but won their next four. The 2013 team started 0-4 but rallied to finish .500. In 2014, the Steelers alternated wins and losses for six weeks to open the season but would win eight of their final 10. The 2015 Steelers were 4-4 in the first half; 6-2 in the second half. They were 4-5 at one point in 2016 but closed the season on a seven-game winning streak. A mediocre-by-comparison 3-2 start in 2017 became a distant memory after a midseason, eight-game winning streak. Last season, the Steelers were 0-1-1 and 1-2-1 at the end of September but won their next six.

Although the 2012, ‘13 and ‘18 teams did not rally to make the playoffs, they overcame poor starts to be in contention down to the season’s final day.

#Steelers have rebounded from 0-3 starts but never made playoffs https://t.co/K0i7s7Q61Q

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 24, 2019

Pouncey believes the 2019 Steelers will similarly keep themselves in the race because of their previous experiences.

“There’s just so many ups and downs and so many ways to get taken away from the real point here, and that’s winning football games. Good thing this team here doesn’t really look to the outside world, and we kind of stay focused and locked in. We’ve got a good support (network).”

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