In the NFL’s salary cap era, it’s rare that there is a team that’s dominant on both sides of the football.  Especially when you have a big time quarterback that demands so much of a team’s allocated funds.

Most elite teams are either solid, but not great on both sides of the football, or they make just enough plays on the weaker side of the ball to get by.

For example, the Super Bowl XLIX Champion New England Patriots finished with the No. 11 ranking on offense and the No. 13 ranking on defense.  Above average on both sides, but far from a juggernaut.

We’ve seen dominant teams on one side of the ball take home the Lombardi Trophy in this era, as the 2013 Seattle Seahawks topped the NFL in defense, but were only ranked 18th in offense.  The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers rode the league’s best defense to their only Super Bowl title, as the Brad Johnson-led offense finished with the 24th overall ranking.

The 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping to flip that script, as they have one of the most explosive offenses in football that will have to carry a really inexperienced defense.

“We want to be the best offense in the league,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told Football Insiders.  “That’s a goal that Coach Haley set out for us and it’s not easy because there’s always a bulls-eye on our chest when you were good last year.  We still have the tools to do it, but we have to execute.”

The Steelers’ tools on offense are impressive.  Their trio rivals any in the NFL.  They return the AFC’s leading rusher in Le’Veon Bell, the NFL’s leading receiver in Antonio Brown and the trigger man, Roethlisberger, tied for the league lead in passing yards.

Pittsburgh also has depth behind those headliners.  They have an elite offensive line led by Maurkice Pouncey, a dependable tight end in Heath Miller and a budding star at wide receiver in Martavis Bryant.  Those are all secondary options.

Is there enough footballs to go around for all of those talented guys?

“As a quarterback you want everybody to make plays, but as a leader of this offense you want everybody to be selfless,” Roethlisberger said.  “You want guys to say, ‘Even if I don’t catch a ball it doesn’t matter as long as we win.’  I think we have that in this group and we just have to keep giving everybody the ball and if they don’t get it, we just have to keep winning football games.”

Although Pro Bowl running back Bell will miss the first two regular season games due to his suspension, the Steelers have an experienced former first-round pick as a backup in DeAngelo Williams.

“He’s been awesome,” Roethlisberger said of Williams.  “He’s a guy who can really spell Le’Veon.  We want Le’Veon to have the ball all the time, but if we can spell him and come in fresh and give him a break, I think we have the best guy for it.”

As inexperienced as Pittsburgh is on defense, the offense is loaded with professionals.  The firm of Roethlisberger-Bell-Brown-Pouncey-Miller has combined for 13 Pro Bowls.

“The leadership on the team is unbelievable,” backup tackle and former Army alum Al Villanueva said.  “Up front with Pouncey, then Ben Roethlisberger is an unbelievable teammate and a great competitor so for me it’s an honor to learn the skills from these guys.”

The veterans have really seemed to embrace the younger players as well.

“A.B. (Antonio Brown) shows me how to work, Ben shows me how to work,” Bryant said.  “Anytime I need help I just talk to those guys and they’re always willing to help me out.  They took me under their wings and I want to thank them for that and I want to repay them and win this championship this year.”

The seventh Super Bowl title in Steelers history is certainly the goal.  The reality is that if they’re going to accomplish that, it’s going to have to be done with the offense carrying the day almost every single Sunday.

The best player on the Steelers defense is probably linebacker Lawrence Timmons.  He is currently hobbled with a toe injury.  There are talented young players on that side of the ball, but inexperience runs rampant with Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree.  Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison has said experience but is long past his prime.  Gone are the days of Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor patrolling the secondary.  Now guys like William Gay and Cortez Allen have to be impact players and there’s nothing in their past that leads anyone to believe they can be that.

In short, the Steelers are likely going to struggle on defense.

The saying usually goes, “Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.” The Steelers are going to try and turn that saying around this year.

We’ve seen some of Peyton Manning’s Colts teams that were pretty much one-dimensional go far in the playoffs, but is that possible playing outdoors in a cold weather city?

The leadership and the focus is certainly there in Pittsburgh.  So is the confidence.

“The sky is the limit for us,” Bryant said.  “Through our preparation and hard work.” 

The preparation and hard work, along with their offensive talent, should take Pittsburgh to the postseason.  They’re going to have to debunk the recent trend of stout defenses showing up in January if they are going to reach their ultimate goal.