With a very difficult schedule, particularly in the back half of the season following a Week 9 bye week, it was paramount for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get off to a fast start and take advantage of some matchups early in the season.
So far, they are doing just that, sitting at 3-0 after wins over the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers to start a season 3-0 for the fourth time in the Mike Tomlin era.
Every time they’ve done that, they’ve made the playoffs. Additionally, every time they’ve started 3-0 under Tomlin they’ve gone on to win the AFC North.
But for Rich Eisen, during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show’s Week 3 Overreaction Podcast, he believes it’s a stretch to say the Steelers will win the AFC North even after their fast start and the struggles of the three other teams in the division.
“They have not only beat all of them who’s in front of him, but they beat ’em up, man,” Eisen said of the Steelers, explaining why he thinks its an overreaction right now to say the Steelers will win the AFC North. “They are hitting. The defensive side of the ball is ruling the day, and allowing them to not put the whole shebang on Justin Fields’s shoulder or plate, okay? And so, to say they’re gonna win the AFC North right now ’cause they got a two-game lead?
“I can’t go there yet.”
It seems fair to call the Steelers winning the AFC North after just three weeks an overreaction, because it is.
Yes, the Steelers have started fast and won all three games to open the season, and yes the other AFC North teams are struggling mightily with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns sitting at 1-2, and the Cincinnati Bengals dropping to 0-3.
The Steelers having a two-game lead early in the season is huge, without a doubt.
But there’s a lot of football left and a lot that can transpire. The Steelers are taking advantage of the schedule right now and are playing very well within themselves. Not trying to do too much, they are staying within the scheme on both sides of the football and physically punishing teams.
That back half of the schedule looms, though, with all six AFC North matchups in there, along with games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Pittsburgh is doing everything it can right now to position itself well for the back half of the schedule without a doubt. We’ll see how many wins they can stack here in the next few weeks before their Week 9 bye.
But right now, after just three weeks, it feels like an overreaction to state the Steelers are winning the AFC North because of three games.
Check out the full episode from Eisen’s show on Week 3 overreactions below.
