The AFC North has been year in and year out one of the best divisions in football over the last handful of years. Nothing ever comes easy, and each of the four teams have had moments of greatness over that span.
Often the divisional race comes down to the last few weeks of the season, and 2023 is likely no different. It stands now as the only division in football where every team is over .500.
The Steelers are right in the hunt at 5-3, one game back of the first-place 6-2 Baltimore Ravens, who they own the tiebreaker over due to a head-to-head victory. A Week 18 matchup against the Ravens could have serious implications in the battle for the AFC North.
However, some don’t have the Steelers pegged as real contenders yet, and Stephen A. Smith is among them. On First Take, he expressed his doubts about the Steelers, due to one person in particular.
“Listen, I don’t want to be disrespectful because I’m very appreciative of what I’m seeing from them.“ Smith admitted. “They ran for 166 yards yesterday. Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. I’m proud of what I saw from them last night. I believe in these brothers. I believe in Diontae Johnson. I believe in Pickens, but I’m sorry it’s Kenny Pickett that I got questions about. It’s their offense overall led by Matt Canada I’ve got questions about and this is why I’m gonna sit up there and say for the moment they’re pretenders. I don’t foresee them winning the AFC North.”
On one hand, Smith makes a fair point. The last time a quarterback that wasn’t Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, or Ben Roethlisberger won the AFC North was when the Bengals won it with Andy Dalton in 2015. There’s a fairly wide range of opinions on Pickett right now, but even his staunchest believers don’t have him in the Jackson, Burrow, and Roethlisberger tier right now. Even 2015 Dalton threw 25 touchdown passes in just 13 games. Pickett isn’t even on pace for 10 touchdowns through his first 13 games this season.
However, we’ve been saying for weeks now that the way the Steelers win games is lucky and unsustainable, but they keep doing it. At a point, you just have to admit it’s part of their football DNA. And for all the questions about Pickett, it is clear that he has an understanding of what this team needs from him to win football games. Take care of the ball, don’t try and do too much, and come through in the fourth quarter. Is he frustrating to watch? Sure. But I’ll take a frustrating win over a moral victory loss all day.
