At the moment, the Pittsburgh Steelers stand atop the AFC North. More people predicted the Steelers to finish at the bottom versus the top, but they’ve played winning football. There’s still a lot of football to be played, though, and there’s no guarantee they’ll remain on top. Analyst Bucky Brooks believes they’ll eventually fall, picking a different underdog to win the division.
“Pittsburgh, I don’t know if they can hold onto the division lead having to play the way they play with Justin Fields,” Brooks said on his podcast, Move the Sticks. “As much as I would like to think everyone comes back to the pack and it’s okay if everyone is 9-8, I think they separate themselves, whoever wins the division.
“I don’t think the Steelers have that capacity, so I’m gonna go the other way. Give me the Cleveland Browns to win the division.”
That is certainly an interesting take from Brooks. It’s fair to not completely believe in the Steelers, especially considering their offensive struggles, but to then back the Browns is confusing. Yes, they’re the only other AFC North team with a win, but they also put up the worst performance among all four teams in Week 1.
The Browns have never won the AFC North, so it isn’t like there’s a precedent set that they’re a winning franchise. What makes them a better option to win the division over, say, the Baltimore Ravens? They had a good defense last year, but this year, they’ve had mixed results.
They got thrashed by the Dallas Cowboys at home and then beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have looked bad so far this year. After Week 1, people were asking if Deshaun Watson could still play football, and then he got into more legal trouble. At this point in the year, there are no wrong answers because anything could happen, but that doesn’t mean everything makes sense.
Also, saying the Steelers don’t have the capacity to separate themselves but the Browns do is odd. It’s not like they have a far better quarterback than the Steelers. Watson hasn’t been a great player since he arrived in Cleveland. Their defenses are relatively similar too, and it could be argued that the Steelers have a better unit.
Brooks is probably right that whoever wins the division will likely separate themselves from the pack though. The AFC North is always a tight race, and it will likely come down to the wire once again. Even if they don’t win the division, nothing says the Steelers can’t still make the playoffs. We’ll see if they can hold on to their current lead though.
