After beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers were finally tabbed as betting favorites to win the AFC North. That comes after the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals were decimated by injuries. The Ravens are 1-5 and the Bengals are 2-4. Despite those teams’ struggles, the Steelers aren’t heavy favorites to win the division. Chris Simms thinks they’re still getting disrespected.
“I do think we’re sleeping on the Steelers a little,” Simms said Monday on his Unbuttoned podcast. “I like what I’m seeing from the Steelers. One, their offense, I hope it gets a little more explosive, but I do think running the ball is going in the right direction. I think their short passing game is a little bit of an extension of the run game. [Aaron] Rodgers is gonna take care of the ball…
“They don’t need much, and I think their defense is continuing to get better. They looked like they did some more creative things yesterday than I’d seen in other games. It’s not perfect for the Steelers, but being 4-1, I feel like they’re not quite getting the respect they probably should be getting.”
That’s a fair observation. Based on their record of 4-1, the Steelers are one of the best teams in the AFC. They’re comfortably in first place in their division. The only other teams in the AFC with one loss are the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts.
Also, many analysts have been waiting for the other shoe to drop with the Steelers. They’ve been winning games, but people haven’t believed that they’ll maintain their success.
Looking at how the Steelers started the year, that’s understandable. Their defense looked awful, getting gashed for their first few games. Likewise, their offense had serious issues, especially in the run game. If the Steelers kept playing like that, then perhaps they wouldn’t be able to continue winning.
However, the Steelers have improved as the year has gone on. Their defense has started to play better, and their run game has found some life. The Steelers have a lot of talent on paper. No AFC team looks unbeatable. If the Steelers play their cards right, they could potentially make some noise in the playoffs.
While Simms doesn’t think the Steelers are getting the respect they deserve, that’s starting to change. Their convincing win over the Browns seems to have boosted their image. The Browns aren’t a great team, but they have a formidable defense. They were ranked second in the league going into Week 6, and Rodgers and company didn’t have much trouble against it.
Are the Steelers Super Bowl contenders? They might not be at that level yet, but if they continue progressing like they are, perhaps they could enter that conversation. They’ve got the Bengals on a short week as their next game. They should handle Cincinnati like they did Cleveland, and if they do, that will build their division lead even more.
