PITTSBURGH — The Steelers won ugly for the second straight week, but from the buzz around them, one would think they are 0-2.

So, just in case you were confused, let me help you out:

The Steelers went on the road twice in a row to start the season, and they WON both games.

They are 2-0.

There are no style points. There is no extra credit for scoring a lot of points. And there is nobody who monitors the game film to determine if a team is worthy of the win they earned.

It doesn't happen that way. It never does.

The only thing that mattered in weeks one and two was that the Steelers ended both games with more points than their opponents.

In Week 1, this meant Chris Boswell kicked his leg off, and in Week 2, it meant the defense dominated an overwhelmed rookie named Bo Nix.

"OK, Paul, that's fine. It might have worked against bad teams with bad quarterbacks, but it won't work in the playoffs against the best teams in the AFC! Do you really think they can beat Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs or Josh Allen and the Bills playing that way?"

I have a little secret for you: It doesn't matter if they can beat the best teams in the AFC in the playoffs — because they still have 16 weeks of the regular season until the playoffs begin.

That means the Steelers have more than enough time to get their offense in gear, fix some of the issues along their offensive line and identify a legitimate second receiving threat.

These are all issues they have, as well as figuring out what they have in quarterback Justin Fields and/or Russell Wilson.

Of course, the Steelers played conservatively and "not to lose" Sunday in Denver, and the reason is because the only team on that field that could beat them was themselves. It was very clear once the Steelers got up 10-0, they didn't need to do much more on offense to win the game. Nix was never going to drive the Broncos the length of the field for a touchdown, and it was even questionable for most of the game that he would lead them to a field goal.

That's why playing "not to lose" or whatever people complained about was the way to go for the Steelers on the road in Denver. As long as Fields and company didn't turn the ball over, give up field position, give up a defensive touchdown or make a key mistake, the defense was going to win the game.

That's the model the Steelers always knew they would need to follow early in the season as they tried to build their offensive identity.

Sure, it was ugly. Sure, it looked a lot like Matt Canada's days. And sure, I will even concede that the Steelers will need to expand their offense and get a lot better in the passing game if they are going to win in the playoffs.

But guess what? They have time to do that.

They weren't playing Mahomes on Sunday. They were playing Nix, and so, yes, the proper approach was to be conservative on offense and aggressive on defense.

If we get to Week 10 or Week 12 and the Steelers offense is still stuck in the Stone Age — still averaging one touchdown every two weeks and still getting very little out of the receivers not named George Pickens — OK, then maybe it is time to panic.

But I am not there yet, and nor should you, as the Steelers offense is a work in progress.

The quarterback position wasn't settled until the final week of the preseason, then turned upside down when Wilson's calf injury got inflamed again. And even though Fields has started two games in a row, I am not sure it is settled even now. Fields has done what he has been asked to do and not much more, but it has worked well enough for them to win two games.

Also, the receivers not named Pickens have been almost useless. That's a problem, and the solution might not be on the roster right now, but the Steelers have some time to figure out if either Van Jefferson or Calvin Austin can be that guy. Roman Wilson is still available but has been hurt, so perhaps he can help. And there might be external options.

Broderick Jones may or may not be one of the starting tackles. The Steelers seem to be shuffling tackles in and out, and they have had some shuffling at one of their guard spots. They have a rookie starting center. I think the offensive line has been really good at times and not so good at other times, and it has probably been penalized too much.

I get all that, but there is also time for all of that to be resolved.

The Steelers don't have to win a playoff game tomorrow, next Sunday, next week, or even next month. They just have to figure out a way to score one more point than the Chargers on Sunday and improve a little bit in the areas they are clearly deficient in.

It's a process.

It takes a little time, and time is clearly on the Steelers' side.

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