They win ugly, but the most important thing is that they win.
Coming off a 23-19 win at Acrisure Stadium Sunday in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers now sit 6-3 and enter a key stretch of the season with road trips to take on the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals looming.
Though Pittsburgh is a bit banged up defensively after losing linebackers Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb to season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks and star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick still recovering from a hamstring injury, the Steelers are still finding a way to get by.
They might have found something offensively on Sunday against the Packers, too. The Steelers rushed for a season-high 205 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Packers as running backs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris had a field day, helping Pittsburgh take the air out of the football and not need to call on a shaky Kenny Pickett much to throw the ball.
The Steelers were outgained in the win — again — yet they’re 6-3. That has them as a consensus top-15 team in a trio of NFL power rankings.
ESPN’s power rankings moved the Steelers up one spot after the win over the Packers, going from No. 13 last week to No. 12 this week. The Steelers surpassed the Bills, who lost a wild game on Monday Night Football at home to the Denver Broncos.
For many in the top 15 of ESPN’s power rankings, the best remaining game was highlighted, and it featured a lot of future games. For Pittsburgh though, it’s this week against the Cleveland Browns.
“Sitting at second place in the AFC North with two wins against the Ravens and the Browns, the Steelers can further cement their improbable place near the top of a tight division by sweeping Cleveland in a rematch of the first meeting, where a fourth-quarter T.J. Watt scoop and score decided the game,” ESPN’s Brooke Pryor writes regarding the Steelers’ most difficult game remaining on the schedule. “The Week 11 game also kicks off a gautlet in the second half of the season where the Steelers will face four AFC North opponents in their final eight games, including back-to-back road games at Cleveland and at Cincinnati.”
The matchup on the road against Cleveland is a tough one. Pittsburgh has lost three of its last four trips to Cleveland, including a 29-17 loss last season on Thursday Night Football in Week Three. Prior to that though, the Steelers were a picture of dominance on the road against the Browns, winning eight straight from 2001-08, and 14 of 17 on the road in that span.
Times have changes though. The Steelers need to get back on the right side of that run now.
For The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, he has the Steelers sitting comfortably at No. 14, though he did drop the Steelers a spot in his power rankings the week despite beating the Packers.
In his power rankings, Kendall highlighted the coach status of the Steelers, that being Mike Tomlin, giving it a rating of “solid” moving forward.
“Mike Tomlin’s status is unchanging. He’s planted in Pittsburgh as long as he wants to be, and it makes sense considering he seems to be on the way extending his streak of never-had-a-losing-season to 17 years,” Kendall writes. “Steelers fans, though, can be forgiven for wondering if Tomlin shouldn’t be judged on a different scale. Such as: What has he won lately? The answer to that is no playoff games in six years. This year’s Steelers are minus-26 in point differential, the lowest in the league for any team with a winning record.”
The point differential is concerning, as is the nine consecutive games in which the Steelers have been outgained. The question continues to pop up: Is it sustainable?
Maybe, maybe not. But the Steelers are 13-5 in their last 18 games playing like this dating back to the Week 9 bye in 2022. That seems largely sustainable, no?
Time will tell. Maybe Pittsburgh can’t win like this in the playoffs. Maybe they will surprise everyone and do just that in the postseason. No matter what though, the Steelers are winning, and winning at a consistent rate under Tomlin.
Finally, CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco has the Steelers at No. 14 in his power rankings, moving up two spots after the win over the Packers. The Steelers passed the Bills and the New Orleans Saints in Prisco’s rankings.
“At 6-3, they are one of the surprise teams of the season. But they’ve lost the yardage battle in every game, which isn’t a good sign,” Prisco writes regarding the Steelers in his power rankings.
The Steelers have been outgained in all nine games this season. They are just the 24th team in NFL history to have that happen, as is well-known at this point.
And yet, the Steelers are 6-3 and the only team with a winning record despite that statistic going against them. Remarkable stuff.
Down the stretch, things will get harder and harder from a schedule perspective, and that starts in Week 11 on the road against the Browns. Pittsburgh will need to start picking it up offensively and break the streak of being outgained to put that story to bed. They’re 6-3 for a reason. That’s a good enough sign as any.
