Are the Steelers the favorites to win the AFC North (and if not, should they be)?
Entering tonight’s game, the Pittsburgh Steelers hold sole possession of first place in the AFC North. That is thanks to the Baltimore Ravens losing in the last minutes to the Cleveland Browns, now with three losses.
The Steelers still have to play their eighth game, which they will do tonight. If they defeat the 2-5 New York Giants, they will head into the bye with a 6-2 record. That is a not uncommon mark for Mike Tomlin teams at the halfway point, but it is no guarantee of further success.
The storyline everybody placed on the Steelers’ season was that they needed a strong first half to survive the second. The Steelers play all of their divisional games in the final nine, and they also play the Commanders, Chiefs, and Eagles. By any reasonable measure, their second-half opponents have had better seasons than their first. The only exceptions are the Browns and Bengals, and divisional opponents are always their own variable.
But the Steelers can enter the second half of the season with a one-game advantage over the Ravens. And they rarely lose twice to Baltimore, even in years when the Ravens are much better on paper. The Browns have virtually no chance of climbing out of the dumpster this year, and the Bengals don’t have much better hopes.
The Bengals are much better than their record, I believe, but the fact is they are 3-5. Even under the best conditions, they will be two games behind the Steelers, even with an easier schedule. And the Ravens have some tough games in the second half as well, facing the Texans, Eagles, and Broncos. Depending on which teams shows up that day, the Chargers could be a challenge as well.
In a vacuum, I’m sure most would say the Ravens have the best combination of talent and success. They are still 5-3 even with the loss, and they have Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. That alone will get you pretty far. But how far can Russell Wilson and his supporting cast take the Steelers? That’s the thing, isn’t it? We still don’t know a whole heck of a lot about that, one game in.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
