One week after getting back to the fringes of being a consensus top-five NFL team based on media power rankings, the Pittsburgh Steelers went into Philadelphia to take on the red-hot Eagles and proceeded to get thumped, dropping a 27-13 decision that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Now, the Steelers have to turn around quickly and get ready to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, continuing the tough gauntlet of three games in 11 days, culminating in a Christmas Day matchup against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.
Coming off the loss to the Eagles and ahead of the matchup with the Ravens, where the AFC North title will be up for grabs, where do the Steelers stand in the Week 16 power rankings?
Below is aggregated power rankings from several major outlets.
| Outlet | Rank | +/- |
| CBS Sports/Prisco | 7 | -1 |
| ESPN | 7 | -1 |
| NFL.com/Edholm | 8 | -2 |
| Pro Football Talk/Florio | 8 | -2 |
| The Athletic | 7 | 0 |
| Average Rank | 7.4 | -1.2 |
In CBS Sports’ power rankings from Pete Prisco, the Steelers fell one spot to No. 7 following the loss to the Eagles, falling behind the Green Bay Packers.
“The offense was lifeless in the loss to the Eagles. That opens up new questions about Russell Wilson as they head to Baltimore to play the Ravens,” Prisco writes regarding the Steelers.
Yes, the offense was lifeless, but how it opens up new questions about Russell Wilson is rather puzzling from Prisco. Granted, he’s never been a believer in Wilson, even dating back to when he was winning a Super Bowl in Seattle, so that’s not much of a surprise.
The Steelers had no running game against the Eagles, as the offensive line was overwhelmed. Receivers couldn’t get open, and the play-calling and overall scheme against the Eagles’ defense was a mess. There wasn’t much Wilson could do.
It was a team failure, not just on Wilson. Any discussion about potentially turning back to Justin Fields isn’t the answer, either.
In The Athletic’s power rankings compiled by Josh Kendall, the Steelers remained at No. 7 for the third straight week, even with the loss to the Eagles.
Kendall highlighted the team MVP for all 32 teams, and unsurprisingly for the Steelers, Kendall chose outside linebacker T.J. Watt, though a case should have been made for kicker Chris Boswell, wide receiver George Pickens or defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.
“Watt left Sunday’s game after turning his ankle. Pittsburgh had better hope it’s not serious,” Kendall writes. “The Steelers are 1-11 (including the playoffs) without him in the lineup since he was drafted in 2017. Watt had two sacks before leaving Sunday, and he’s now tied for third in the league with 11 1/2.
“In his time in the league, no one has had more than his 108 sacks.”
The Steelers are downright awful without Watt in the lineup. As Kendall pointed out, the Steelers are 1-11 without Watt on the field, including in the playoffs where they lost last season to Buffalo without Watt, who hurt his knee in Week 18 against the Ravens.
Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like the ankle injury he suffered Sunday is serious, as head coach Mike Tomlin stated Monday that he’s optimistic about Watt’s availability for Saturday. That’s great news for the Steelers, and bad news for the Ravens.
Watt is arguably the best pass rusher in the game, and he can change games in the blink of an eye with his ability to create turnovers. He had a very good game on Sunday with two sacks, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. He’s probably going to win team MVP again, too.
The Steelers dropped one spot in ESPN’s power rankings Tuesday, too, falling to No. 7, being passed up by the Packers, much like in CBS Sports’ power rankings.
In the ESPN power rankings, Steelers beat writer Brooke Pryor identified the biggest improvement on the year for the Steelers.
“It’s a little awkward to identify the Steelers’ passing offense as the biggest area of improvement coming off a game in which quarterback Russell Wilson had a season-low 128 passing yards. However, the Steelers’ passing game — especially deep, explosive throws — has improved since he took the starting job from Justin Fields in Week 7,” Pryor writes. “With Wilson as the signal-caller, the Steelers are averaging 238.5 passing yards per game, compared to 166.8 in the six games with Fields at quarterback.”
There is no denying that the passing game has improved immensely since Russell Wilson took over in Week 7 as the starting quarterback. He’s added a downfield, explosive element to the offense, helping lift the Steelers into the top 10 in scoring in the process.
Though Sunday was a very tough day for the offense overall, Wilson still connected on a 31-yard pass to Calvin Austin III on an explosive play, giving the Steelers’ offense life early in the second half. It’s hit or miss at times, especially with George Pickens out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, but there is no denying the improvements the passing game has made with the future Hall of Famer in Wilson running the show.
Finally, in NFL.com’s power rankings, the Steelers dropped two spots from to No. 8 after the loss to the Eagles, which has Eric Edholm a bit concerned, especially with the way the offense looked and how the defense was manhandled.
“This was one of those “how bad was it really?” losses. Pittsburgh clinched a playoff spot and can still win the AFC North next week in Baltimore. Yeah, the offense really struggled, but the Steelers were without George Pickens. That’s fair and worth noting,” Edholm writes. “Then again, I spent the week lumping these guys in with the upper tier of teams, and the offensive health of a squad that belongs there shouldn’t be so wholly dependent on one receiver. Plus, a defense considered by some to be one of the league’s best was humbled more often than not. The Eagles threw the ball all over the field Sunday and still owned time of possession despite not running that well. That — plus the ankle injury suffered by T.J. Watt — left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth heading into the big one next week against the Ravens.”
Yes, the Steelers clinched a playoff spot, thanks to some outside help, but it was a concerning loss nonetheless. Still, it’s not one to panic over. The Steelers were simply outplayed and overmatched. They needed one of these humbling games late in the year to regroup and get back on track.
Health is huge moving forward, and right now they’re banged up. But based on what transpired Sunday against the Eagles, feels like there’s a very good chance the Steelers respond in a big way Saturday against the Ravens.
