The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-2 and atop the AFC North standings heading into their bye week. So it only makes sense that Steelers fans would be looking ahead toward the playoffs. After all, it’s been quite a while since the Steelers won a playoff game and people would love for that to change this season.
The rest of the season’s schedule will be full of challenges for the Steelers. They still have the entirety of the AFC North schedule. Then there are the matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
And it’s that Chiefs game on Christmas that will serve as a huge barometer of whether the Steelers can consider themselves true contenders. The Chiefs are still undefeated despite a down year statistically from QB Patrick Mahomes. Oh, and they won the last two Super Bowls. Can the Steelers give them a run for their money both on Christmas and in the playoffs?
Not according to Austin Mock of The Athletic. He wrote an article about the “four true contenders” for taking out the Chiefs this season, and he list the Steelers as part of the pretenders of the AFC.
“Outside of the (Chiefs, Bills, Texans, and Ravens), only three teams in the entire conference have a record of .500 or better: the Steelers (6-2), Broncos (5-3) and the Indianapolis Colts (4-4),” Mock wrote. “And two of those teams (Steelers and Colts) have made quarterback changes over the past few weeks. Sure, I believe both quarterbacks are upgrades for this season, but I don’t know if I actually believe if any of these three teams are actual contenders to knocking the Chiefs off in the postseason.”
So Mock believes that switching from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson is an upgrade for the Steelers but is unconvinced that’s enough for them to be a contender. But the Steelers’ offense with Wilson the last two games has put up over 400 yards a game and averaged 31.5 points.
Then you factor in the defense, led by T.J. Watt, and it’s hard to count out the Steelers. But it’s not enough to convince Mock that the Steelers have any sort of a chance against the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, he thinks that the Cincinnati Bengals have a better chance against the Chiefs.
“Honestly, if I had to pick a team to be the next most likely contender, I’d choose the Bengals,” Mock wrote. “This has nothing to do with the Bengals’ success against the Chiefs the past few seasons and everything to do with that I think the Bengals would be favored over all three teams mentioned above. The issue with the Bengals — outside of their horrendous defense — is that they’re 3-5 and their playoff odds (37 percent) aren’t looking great.”
Sure, the Bengals are a better contender despite having a worse record and a worse defense. The Chiefs are undefeated but their offense has not been blowing the doors off opponents this season. So if you want to beat them, your best bet is playing good defense. So why on earth would a team playing poorly on defense be favored over the Steelers? After all, the Steelers have allowed the third-fewest points this season.
Well, most people thought the Bengals were going to be quite good this year with a healthy Joe Burrow. And Burrow has been quite good this season. He’s completing 70.3 percent of his passes for 1,993 yards and 15 touchdowns to only three interceptions.
But the Bengals have allowed 23 touchdowns (12 passing and 11 rushing). Don’t you think Mahomes might just find his groove against that kind of defense?
The Bengals and the Steelers aren’t the only AFC North teams mentioned. The Ravens are second among the true contenders just behind the Bills. The reason? Ironically, pass defense.
So will the Steelers prove to be a contender or pretender over the course of the last nine games? Only time will tell. But to think that the Bengals, a team three games behind the Steelers in the standings, have a better chance to dethrone the Chiefs seems crazy to me. Just because Burrow believes they have still have a shot at making the playoffs doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
To no one’s surprise, former Steelers S Ryan Clark believes the Steelers are winning a playoff game this year. And they have done a lot of good things through eight games to set themselves up for success. The hardest part of the schedule is still ahead of them, though. And that’s what will determine whether they’re truly contenders or pretenders.
