Leading up to the highly anticipated AFC North showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 at Acrisure Stadium, it was viewed as a statement game for both teams, which were looking like legitimate AFC contenders.
Now, thanks to a thrilling 18-16 win over the Ravens, the Steelers are riding a five-game winning streak, knocked off arguably the best team in football, and look like legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
They have shown the ability to win in a variety of ways and continue to stack wins, defeating quite a few good teams along the way. With the win over the Ravens, the 8-2 Steelers continue to climb up the power rankings.
Below is a chart of aggregate power rankings from several major outlets.
| Outlet | Rank | +/- |
| CBS Sports/Prisco | 4 | +1 |
| ESPN | 5 | – |
| NFL.com/Edholm | 6 | +1 |
| Pro Football Talk/Florio | 4 | +1 |
| The Athletic | 4 | +2 |
| Average Rank | 4.6 |
In The Athletic’s power rankings compiled by Josh Kendall, the Steelers made their largest move of the week, moving up two spots to crack the top five, going from No. 6 to No. 4.
The Steelers moved past the Ravens, who fell all the way to No. 8, while also jumping the Philadelphia Eagles.
“While the rest of the NFL world marvels at the fact that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in 18 years in Pittsburgh, Steelers fans have been wondering when he’s going to have another big-time winning one. Maybe it’s this year,” Kendall writes of the Steelers’ head coach. “Pittsburgh is winning Tomlin’s way, too. The Steelers are second in scoring defense (16.2 ppg) and doing just enough on offense (14th in scoring, 23.3 ppg).
“On Sunday, they won for the second time this season without scoring a touchdown.”
What Tomlin is doing this season is impressive. He’s pushing all the right buttons, making all the right decisions and has his team rolling entering Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns. He should be a shoo-in for the NFL’s Coach of the Year, but it seems unlikely that he’ll get the award.
Time will tell.
In CBS Sports’ power rankings, the Steelers moved up another spot to No. 4 overall, continuing their steady climb.
“The defense came up big in the victory over the Ravens. But they need more from Russell Wilson than what they got for much of that game,” Pete Prisco writes for CBS Sports.
Yes, the Steelers need Wilson to be better than he was against the Ravens, especially in the red zone. But when he’s off his game he needs others to step up. That’s exactly what the defense did Sunday, putting the clamps on the best offense in football, leading to a rather impressive win for the Black and Gold.
It’s better to correct mistakes while winning, as Tomlin likes to say. That’s what the Steelers are doing.
In ESPN’s power rankings, the Steelers remained at No. 5 while the Ravens fell from No. 3 to No. 7.
ESPN Steelers beat writer Brooke Pryor highlighted George Pickens, stating that after being on the preseason hot seat, that seat is cold now due to Pickens’ growth on and off the field.
“Pickens’ effectiveness has increased even more since quarterback Russell Wilson took over the starting job. The third-year wideout is averaging 91 receiving yards per game with Wilson, up from 60.5 with Justin Fields at quarterback,” Pryor writes. “But for all of his improbable circus catches and field-stretching capabilities, Pickens is still battling some immaturity. Early in the season, he wore eye black with an explicit message, and he was fined $16,000 after suplexing a Washington defensive back and staying on top of him after a play.
“For Pickens, the good far outweighs the bad, but his mercurial tendencies keep his seat from being freezing.”
While Pickens has had some struggles with maturity at times, getting into an argument with WRs coach Zach Azzanni in training camp and then wearing the eyeblack with the expletive on it, Pryor is wrong to write that Pickens was fined for “suplexing a Washington defensive back.”
While that play was shared widely on social media, Pickens was not fined for it. He was fined for grabbing hold of the Commanders’ defensive back’s facemask on a catch and run.
Here’s that play.
So, very clearly not the play he went viral for, as Pryor tried to write.
Pickens has had his moments of bad this season, but the good has far, far outweighed the bad. He’s taken his game to another level and is playing some very good football.
Finally, in NFL.com’s power rankings from Eric Edholm, the Steelers landed at No. 6, marking the only power rankings in which the Steelers were outside of the top five.
Overall, though, things are pointing up for the Steelers, who are rolling entering a difficult portion of the schedule. Sitting at 8-2, they are clear contenders and continue to put the league on notice weekly.
