Coming off a thrilling 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams on the road at SoFi Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at 4-2 on the season and staring down an opportunistic stretch of home games.
The Steelers will host the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers in the next three weeks, giving Pittsburgh a real opportunity to stack some wins and push into contender status in a loaded AFC.
The win over the Rams did more than just present the Steelers with a great opportunity ahead at 4-2. It also moved them inside the top 15 in a trio of NFL Power Rankings Tuesday morning, putting them as a fringe top-10 team across multiple media outlets.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco moved the Steelers to No. 11 this week, a climb of 11 spots from last week when the Steelers sat at No. 22.
“Mike Tomlin has done a nice job with this team this year. It’s good to see the offense show some life against the Rams as they ready for a big game with the Jaguars,” Prisco writes regarding the Steelers’ spot in his power rankings.
It hasn’t always been pretty — it might never be — but the Steelers are 4-2 for a reason, and Tomlin is doing a good job overall with the team he has at his disposal. The Steelers showed real signs of life in the fourth quarter offensively against the Rams, storming back for the win with a dominant fourth quarter on that side of the football. Now they’re in the driver’s seat entering a key stretch with three straight home games.
The Steelers passed the likes of the Rams, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and Los Angeles Chargers with their move up Prisco’s power rankings.
Over at The Athletic, writer Josh Kendall kept the Steelers at No. 13 overall despite the win, and wonders if star outside linebacker T.J. Watt will win the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award for the second time in his career.
“We ask this question in the Steelers section because T.J. Watt is at or near the top of the list. Watt still is on pace to break his own single-season sacks record of 22 1/2 despite not having a sack for the first time Sunday,” Kendall writes regarding the Steelers and Watt for the power ranking. “He did grab his first interception of the season, though, to keep the Steelers in the game. Watt is tied for fifth in the league with 22 defensive splash plays, according to TruMedia, which is three more than Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Watt’s main competition.”
Watt wasn’t much of a factor rushing the passer on Sunday against the Rams, generating just two pressures and just one tackle on the afternoon, recording his lowest pass rush grade of the season from Pro Football Focus at 51.5. However, his interception to open the second half sparked the Steelers, setting up a go-ahead 1-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Kenny Pickett.
As Kendall writes, Watt is on pace to break the single-season sacks record of 22.5 that he currently holds with Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. He’s on pace for roughly 27 sacks this season. He also joined elite company on Sunday. His interception put him in statistical company with Lawrence Taylor while also pushing into the discussion with elite-level pass rushers from the past, including Julius Peppers, Jason Taylor and Terrell Suggs.
Garrett is an elite player in his own right, doing things many aren’t able to do physically. But each and every week Watt is making history. That’s hard to top.
Finally, in ESPN’s power rankings coming out of Week Seven, the Steelers moved up to No. 12, climbing three spots from during the bye week.
Pittsburgh passed the likes of the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to climb into the No. 12 spot and sit on the fringe of the top 10.
In ESPN’s power rankings, Steelers beat writer Brooke Pryor highlighted second-year running back Jaylen Warren as the young riser to know for the Steelers.
“In his second season, Warren’s stalwart presence in pass protection as a fierce blocker has him playing almost as many touches as 2021 first-round running back Najee Harris — 62 to 85. He has only 156 rushing yards to Harris’ 300, but both are averaging 3.9 yards per carry and have a touchdown. Warren’s versatility also helped him carve out a role as a third-down pass-catching back with 22 receptions for 165 yards,” Pryor writes regarding Warren’s increased usage in his second season.Â
Warren has done well in his role in his second season, becoming a valuable piece of the puzzle for a Steelers offense that is still trying to figure out what it does and does not do well.
His 13-yard touchdown on Sunday against the Rams helped ignite the comeback, and he had some key blitz pickups throughout the game, though he did allow a sack on a woeful pass blocking rep in the first quarter.
Warren is a tough runner, brings some explosiveness to the table offensively and has really taken a step forward as a receiver out of the backfield, serving as a very good complementary piece to Harris.
Things are looking up for the Steelers overall, both on the field and in the meaningless power rankings. If the Steelers can keep stacking wins, they’ll keep rising in the power rankings and pushing into the contender conversation in the process.
