Two weeks in the NFL can change everything. After Week One, the Pittsburgh Steelers were licking their wounds following a 30-7 shellacking by the San Francisco 49ers. Fast forward to today and the Steelers have won their last two and sit atop the AFC North.
Still, they’re in a tight early race with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens also sitting at 2-1 while the Cincinnati Bengals got on the board last night with a win over the Los Angeles Rams. And just like the start of the season, each team in the AFC North believes it can still come out on top. The Browns’ defense looks among the best in football, the Ravens were rolling until being tripped up by the Indianapolis Colts and the Bengals are banking on QB Joe Burrow getting healthy and returning to form.
That’s the topic the Good Morning Football crew debated Tuesday morning. Kyle Brandt made the case for why the Steelers are still the most dangerous team in the North.
“There was something that clicked in the Week Three game for the Steelers,” Brandt said. “Listen, they have a lot in common with Buffalo in the sense that they looked like garbage in Week One. And everything is business as usual since.”
Things have been better since the opener. On the back of their defense, the Steelers earned a Week Two win over the Browns with two defensive scores, including the go-ahead fumble recovery for a touchdown by T.J. Watt off Alex Highsmith’s strip-sack. And the offense had its best showing Sunday night against the Raiders. The Steelers rushed for over 100 yards while Kenny Pickett threw for the first multi-touchdown game of his NFL career.
Brandt referenced his score to TE Pat Freiermuth and the moment between Pickett and Tomlin, showing a spark of confidence that hadn’t been there the first two games.
But if the Steelers are going to win the AFC North for the first time since 2020, it’ll be because of their defense. Specifically, their front seven and pass rush. Through three weeks, they lead the NFL with 13 sacks, putting them on pace for 73 this season. The odds of that happening are low but they should return to their 50-sack ways, a streak they enjoyed until it was broken last year.
While the Browns are getting credit for their defensive prowess, Brandt believes the Steelers could be better.
“The Pittsburgh defense might even be nastier…it’s always Pittsburgh to me. If you’re struggling with one, just stick with the most consistent or the healthiest. It’s Pittsburgh.”
Watt leads the NFL with six sacks and is tied for the top spot with two forced fumbles. Highsmith has also made splash plays, highlighted by that forced fumble of QB Deshaun Watson to topple the Browns. All this has been done without Cam Heyward except for roughly two quarters of the season, and the six-time Pro Bowler is currently on IR recovering from groin surgery.
The Steelers also know how to win close games. Their two victories this season have been by five and four points. In their nine wins last year, only two were by more than one score and their largest margin of victory has been just 14 points, a 28-14 victory over the Browns in last year’s finale. Pittsburgh finds ways to win, even if it’s ugly, and that is key in AFC North contests that seemingly always come down to the wire.
