The Pittsburgh Steelers have proven this season that they want to be a physical team, which might be necessary if they want to win the AFC North. The division is always brutal, but with the Steelers currently on top, the other three teams will surely be ready to capitalize on any weakness. This week, the Steelers play the Dallas Cowboys, and Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones sounds excited for his team to experience that AFC North grit.
“When you go against the likes of a Pittsburgh, a Cincinnati, a Cleveland, and a Baltimore, they call them the black-and-blue division for a reason,” Jones said recently via the team’s website. “It’s a lot of physicality when you play those guys. They construct their football teams to play in that division. It’s good for us to go against teams like this and get us prepared for the long haul.”
Calling the AFC North a physical division is an understatement. The Steelers want to punch every opponent in the mouth and the Baltimore Ravens might have the best running game in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns are struggling right now, but when running back Nick Chubb is healthy, they’re incredibly tough too. The Cincinnati Bengals are a little flashier, but they still have a history of being tone setters.
The Cowboys will likely be tested against the Steelers. They’re 2-2, having an up-and-down season so far. They crushed the Browns but got smacked in the mouth by the Ravens. In that game, they got a good taste of what the AFC North is all about. The Ravens ran for 274 total yards and 6.1 yards per carry.
That game exposed some issues with the Cowboys’ run defense, which was much improved the following week against the New York Giants. However, there’s no telling if they actually solved that problem, or if the Giants just struggle to run the ball. The Steelers will give them a better idea of where they stand Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers struggled to run the ball in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, but that may have partly been due to the issues along their offensive line. This week, they should get back standout guard Isaac Seumalo, which should make their run game better. The battle in the trenches will be one to watch, and we’ll see how the Cowboys fare against this AFC North team.
