Though the Pittsburgh Steelers have scratched and clawed their way to a 3-2 start and AFC North lead, many in the national media aren’t convinced the Steelers are the division’s true favorites. In fact, they were at best a curiosity in a Tuesday Get Up discussion over who is the AFC North’s best team. The panel spent most of their time debating about the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, not the Steelers.
“I’m going fiction,” analyst Jeff Saturday said when asked if the Steelers will make the playoffs. “How they won against the Ravens, I have no idea…I just don’t think offensively they can stay in this for the entirety of the season. I think the Bengals make a big runback and the Ravens will get back on the right track.”
Pittsburgh knocked off Baltimore over the weekend in a wild 17-10 victory. As Saturday suggested, the Steelers somehow found a way to win despite not playing great football. An offense that did little for almost the entire game, a defense bailed out by Ravens’ miscues, and a special teams gaffe, Gunner Olszewski’s fumble, that would’ve cost most teams the game. But Pittsburgh isn’t a normal team. They win close, they win ugly, they find ways to hang around until the very end.
Saturday and the panel praised the Bengals following their 34-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals. QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase looked like their old selves, Burrow throwing three touchdowns to Chase, and putting Cincinnati at 2-3 on the year. Still last in the division but their first real sign of hope all season.
“The Bengals are only a game out,” said Dan Graziano. “And Joe Burrow looked as healthy as he’s looked all year. If Joe Burrow’s leg is healthy, then the Bengals are right back in this thing and possibly the favorite.”
Most of the discussion revolved around those two squads with the Steelers only receiving the occasional mention and the Cleveland Browns basically shut out of the conversation. An exasperated Mike Greenberg tried to figure out how Pittsburgh is in first place.
“How are they 3-2?” he asked. “I don’t know how they’ve won any of the games they’ve won.”
Pittsburgh used their defense to beat Cleveland late in Week Two, an Alex Highsmith strip-sack on QB Deshaun Watson scooped and scored by T.J. Watt. Had the Browns not lost RB Nick Chubb during the game, they probably come out on top. The Steelers then held off a Las Vegas Raiders’ comeback the following week, building a lead and containing RB Josh Jacobs, forcing QB Jimmy Garoppolo to win through the air. He threw three interceptions.
Sunday’s win over the Ravens was zany and required a big offensive score, a 41-yard TD to WR George Pickens, a blocked punt by S Miles Killebrew, and the late pass rush of OLBs Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt. Pittsburgh is an uneven team but they create splash plays in all phases and find ways to win late.
Ultimately, the Get Up panel made their picks to win the AFC North. Two of them, Greenberg and Saturday, picked the Bengals. The other two, Domonique Foxworth and Saturday, chose the Ravens. The Steelers and Browns received no votes. Frankly, it’s hard to blame them for shutting out the Steelers, their winning record is improbable by most metrics (highlighted by their -31 point differential) but if Pittsburgh keeps winning, they’ll eventually have to be recognized.
