And just like that, the Pittsburgh Steelers are your new AFC North leaders. With a 23-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday night, the Steelers are 2-1 on the season and have leaped the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns for a technical spot of first place.
By virtue of having tiebreaker, the Steelers take the top spot.
Pittsburgh’s season got off to an ugly start, blown out at home by the San Francisco 49ers 30-7. They rebounded with their first win of 2023 last Monday night, 26-22. It was, at times, an ugly game, but two defensive touchdowns vaulted the Steelers over the Browns.
The Steelers were in control of Sunday’s win over the Raiders throughout, though in typical fashion they made things interesting late. Pittsburgh went up 23-7 before letting the Raiders back in the game. But they got enough defensive stops and bled enough clock offensively to only give Las Vegas seconds to come back, CB Levi Wallace picking QB Jimmy Garoppolo off to seal things.
Pittsburgh’s offense wasn’t perfect but better as Kenny Pickett threw for the first multi-touchdown game of his career. Pickett hit WR Calvin Austin III for a 72-yard score in the first quarter and later hit TE Pat Freiermuth off play-action for his second. The run game had more success, rushing for over 100 yards for the first time this season. Defensively, the Steelers forced three turnovers and registered four sacks.
Earlier in the day, the Ravens were upset by the Indianapolis Colts 22-19 in overtime. The Browns picked up their second victory in convincing fashion, 27-3 over the Tennessee Titans. The 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals will play the Los Angeles Rams Monday night.
Pittsburgh faces off against the Houston Texans next Sunday.
