Last season, they won their last 3 games in a row including beating Fulham 4-0. Got 11 points from their last 6 games. When Heckingbottom took over they were 16th and ended the season in 5th, their highest position of the season. Didn't lose two games in a row under Heckingbottom.
They've had one bad run under Heckingbottom in October when they went 6 games in a row without winning so, like any team in the Championship, they can struggle for a while but right now I see no signs of it. Since Carrick took over, they've played 13, won 9, drawn 2 lost 1, a better record than ours and including wins against West Brom and Burnley.
Right now, there is zero evidence that Sheffield Utd will implode to the degree that we could catch them. It's a triumph of hope over expectation. If we can keep on at 2 points per game, which would be a phenomenal performance given the season's start, we'll end up on 80 points which hasn't been enough for second place since 2012-13. Sheffield Utd only need 7 wins out of their next 17 games to get to 81 points.