The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 10-0 with Sunday's 27-3 win over the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars.
It's the first time in franchise history the club opened a season with 10 wins, and it is the only team to reach 10-0 in the last five years.
Pittsburgh became the 18th team in the Super Bowl era to start 10-0. Ten of those clubs made the Super Bowl, and six won it all.
"We're not chasing perfection in terms of a perfect 16-0," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We're chasing Lombardis. That's the most important thing for us."
The Steelers have taken care of business each week this season, even if they haven't always been impressive. Sunday, the offense once again left points on the field against one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and Big Ben threw his first INT in four weeks.
"We got to put more points on the board," Roethlisberger said. "I know what the scoreboard says, but there were too many times we punted and didn't do enough. Offensively, we're happy we got the win, but we know we have to be better."
The Steelers haven't received as much hype for their undefeated record as others in the past largely because of how they've scraped out wins against lesser clubs.
"We don't anticipate rolling out of tunnels and people laying down for us," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We step out of tunnels expecting a 60-minute fight every week."
At times the Steelers have invited the fights by getting off to slow starts.
Leaning on a strong defense lends itself to tighter games. Sunday, the Steelers forced four interceptions of Jags rookie quarterback Jake Luton.
No one in Pittsburgh is concerned with going undefeated.
"When you start thinking too much about the future, you stop preparing the way you're supposed to be preparing, doing what you're supposed to be doing," safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. "We're in the NFL. Everybody that lines up across from you is a talented, paid professional, and you have to treat them as such. We can't look at somebody because they have injuries or their record is [not great]. You can't prepare as if they're 1-8; you have to prepare as if you're going to be 1-0. So, I think that's the mentality we have week to week."
Potential stumbling blocks to 16-0 remain ahead, beginning with the Thanksgiving night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. Playoff teams in Buffalo, Indianapolis and Cleveland also remain on the schedule.
With the one-loss Kansas City Chiefs nipping at their heels, Pittsburgh can't afford to stumble. The No. 1 overall seed is more vital than ever before with only one postseason bye up for grabs.
