Fresh off a big-time victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers improved their AFC playoff chances overall thanks to the 34-11 win over the Bengals.
Not only did the Steelers improve in the AFC playoff picture, they also moved up in the latest trio of power rankings across the NFL landscape, including The Athletic and CBS Sports.
Entering Saturday night’s Week 16 matchup against the Bengals, things were rather bleak for the Steelers. Pittsburgh was riding a three-game losing streak and had made yet another change at quarterback, inserting Mason Rudolph into the lineup two days before Christmas. In a rather fitting performance, too, Rudolph guided the Steelers’ sleigh to a major win, putting up one of the best performances the Steelers have seen from a quarterback in two seasons.
Now, the attention shifts to the Week 17 road trip to Seattle, which is another must-win game for the Steelers.
Ahead of that Week 17 matchup against the Seahawks, the Steelers moved up to No. 15 in the latest power rankings from The Athletic, compiled by Josh Kendall.
In the power rankings from The Athletic, Kendall highlighted his choice for the Steelers’ MVP so far this season. Unsurprisingly, the Steelers’ MVP from Kendall’s vantage point is outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
“Death, taxes and a Watt brother terrorizing NFL quarterbacks,” Kendall writes regarding Watt as the Steelers’ Team MVP. “Watt leads the league in sacks this season (17). If he finishes the season in first place, it will be the fifth time in the last 12 seasons that T.J. or his brother J.J. has led the league, and T.J. will become the first player in NFL history to lead the league three straight seasons.”
Watt has been terrorizing quarterbacks all season. To go along with his 17.0 sacks, Watt has an absurd 76 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. He wins consistently, puts a ton of heat on quarterbacks throughout games and really makes game-changing plays on a consistent basis.
With all of the issues on offense under center and with the play calling, leading to some major changes there, the defense has been the steady presence, especially on the edge. Watt has already won two straight team MVP awards with the Steelers and seems like a shoo-in for a third straight for the Black and Gold.
Not only did Pittsburgh move up into the top 15 in The Athletic’s power rankings, the Steelers did the same in CBS Sports’ power rankings from Pete Prisco Tuesday morning, landing at No. 15.
“They made a smart change going to Mason Rudolph at quarterback. They keep their playoff hopes alive by beating the Bengals,” Prisco writes regard the Steelers’ move up in the power rankings.
After watching the offense struggle under Mitch Trubisky with Kenny Pickett on the shelf due to injury, the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin were forced to make a change at quarterback, turning to Mason Rudolph.
The veteran quarterback, who hadn’t started a game since the 2021 season, had one of the best performances by a Steelers quarterback in more than two seasons, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Hitting wide receiver George Pickens for touchdowns of 86 and 66 yards, Rudolph consistently took shots down the field, sparking the Steelers’ offense in a big way.
