In what was a rather thrilling game, the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win in Week 10 on the road against the Washington Commanders. A late 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to new wide receiver Mike Williams, led to a 28-27 win over the Commanders.
It wasn’t pretty, and there were some harrowing moments in the game, but the Steelers did what they’ve done much of the season: find a way to win.
Now, at 7-2 on the season and ahead of a pivotal AFC North tilt with the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers continue to climb the charts in NFL power rankings across the media landscape.
Last week, coming out of the bye week, the Steelers were firmly in the top 10 and considered a realistic contender. This week, thanks to the win over the Commanders, the Steelers are closer and closer to the top five.
Below is a chart of aggregate power rankings from several major outlets.
| Outlet | Rank | +/- |
| CBS Sports/Prisco | 5 | +1 |
| ESPN | 5 | +2 |
| NFL.com/Edholm | 7 | +2 |
| Pro Football Talk/Florio | 5 | +1 |
| The Athletic | 6 | +3 |
| Average Rank | 5.6 |
That win over the Commanders was a big one for the Steelers. It showed that even when down multiple scores, they can find a way to get back into the game offensively and ultimately win it. That’s a massive change from previous years where if the Steelers fell behind multiple scores, the game was over.
That’s not the case now, which is rather refreshing. It has people believing in the Steelers quite a bit moving forward.
One of those believers is CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco. In CBSSports.com’s power rankings, Prisco has the Steelers at No. 5, overtaking the Commanders after the head-to-head win.
“Mike Tomlin would be Coach of the Year right now. He’s earned that with his team’s 7-2 start. Russell Wilson and the moon balls keep winning, but here come the Ravens,” Prisco writes.
Tomlin should be in consideration for the NFL’s Coach of the Year award. Shockingly, in his 18 years as an NFL head coach, Tomlin has never once received a first-place vote for the award.
That should change this season. What Tomlin is doing with the Steelers is nothing short of remarkable. He’s doing things many believed the Steelers didn’t have a shot of doing, even after an offseason in which roster improvements were made.
He also made the bold decision to turn to Russell Wilson under center in Week 7, even with Justin Fields getting the Steelers to 4-2 as Wilson recovered from a nagging calf injury. That move looks genius now as the Steelers are rolling and riding high after a thrilling Week 10 win on the road.
A matchup against Baltimore on Sunday looms. Huge, huge game.
In The Athletic’s power rankings compiled by Josh Kendall, the Steelers moved up three spots to No. 6 this week.
The win over the Commanders was a big one for the Black and Gold, and Wilson was great in the fourth quarter, but despite that showing in the fourth quarter and the work he’s done in the first four weeks of the season, Wilson still doesn’t inspire much confidence in Kendall, who gave the Steelers’ QB situation a confidence rating of four out of 10.
“Pittsburgh is not in this position because of its quarterback play, but Russell Wilson deserves some credit for being 3-0 since taking the job from Justin Fields. Wilson’s chuck-it-deep style has been a nice fit with George Pickens and the Steelers,” Kendall writes. “The veteran quarterback is third in air yards per attempt (9.9) since Week 7, and his .19 EPA per drop back is on pace to be his best since the 2015 season.”
Wilson is having a heck of a renaissance with the Steelers through three games. He has the Steelers’ offense rolling, is uncorking some great moon balls and has helped unlock the Steelers’ passing game. That’s allowed wide receiver George Pickens to thrive and even led to the game-winning throw to new receiver Mike Williams against Washington.
Things are looking up at QB for the Steelers, even if Kendall isn’t all that confident in it right now.
Elsewhere in power rankings, the Steelers landed at No. 5 in Pro Football Talk’s power rankings from Mike Florio, moving up one spot from last week. The Steelers also landed at No. 5 in ESPN’s power rankings, moving up two spots from last week.
Finally, in NFL.com’s power rankings from Eric Edholm, the Steelers moved up two spots to No. 7.
“Somehow, the Steelers gained 97 first-half yards, gave it up on downs at their own 16-yard line, coughed the ball up on the Washington 1-yard line and still won. They were shaky throughout, suffering some crushing defensive penalties and allowing long TD drives immediately before and after halftime. And Alex Highsmith, Najee Harris and Donte Jackson all suffered injuries. But Mike Tomlin is a future Hall of Fame coach because he prepares for his teams to thrive in these types of tense, wild games,” Edholm writes in his latest power rankings. “It didn’t work out in the loss to the Cowboys back in early October, but more often than not, the Steelers have taken care of business in money situations, even showing Sunday they could do so when they move up a weight class, on the road against a quality Commanders team.
“Finishing the game off with a hard count to draw Washington offsides was the perfect ending to this wacky test. The stage is now set for a beauty Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Ravens, with AFC North supremacy on the line.”
The win Sunday wasn’t pretty by any stretch. There were plenty of concerns and some ugly stretches of football. But the Steelers did what good teams do: found a way to win.
That’s a credit to Tomlin and the veteran leadership on the team. They never blinked and made plays in big moments to get back into the game and win.
Now, things are ratcheting up for Sunday on the North Shore against the Ravens. What a game that will be.
