The Pittsburgh Steelers entered their bye week as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. With four straight wins and sole possession of first place in the AFC North, it was getting hard to deny that the Steelers had found their groove. With no game this past weekend, did the NFL media forget about the red-hot Steelers?
Let’s take a look around the internet and see if the Steelers lost or gained any respect during their week off in this week’s power rankings roundup.
FOX Sports: No.12 (No. 13 Last Week)
“The Steelers probably deserved to
move up more on their bye week, considering how unimpressive the two teams in front of them looked on Sunday. But they’ll stay outside of the top 10, knowing they have a huge opportunity to jump next Sunday night when they take on the high-flying Bengals in Cincinnati. That’ll be a huge test for their ancient QB, Aaron Rodgers, to see if he can keep up with Joe Burrow, even a little bit. The Steelers defense could cause the Bengals some problems, but the odds are pretty good that if Pittsburgh is going to win, they’ll have to find a way to win a high-scoring game.” – Ralph Vacchiano
The Athletic: No.13 (Last Week No.12)
“Four straight wins entering the bye have the Steelers climbing our ranking behind a surging defense. The fear was that this season would end similarly to recent ones in the Mike Tomlin era, but Pittsburgh is playing well enough to inspire hope for the second half.” – Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
CBS Sports: No.9 (Last Week No. 10)
“They come off their bye with a big game for the division lead against the Bengals. Their defense will be challenged by that passing game.” – Pete Prisco
Pro Football Talk: No.7 (Last Week No. 8)
“Completing the sweep of the Bengals will be critical to winning the division.” – Mike Florio
NFL.com: No.12 (Last Week No.12)
“Pittsburgh cruised into its Week 9 bye on a roll afterdominating the Browns to take control of the AFC North. An even more important test awaits the Steelers in their return to action this week: aprime-time date with the 6-2 Bengals on Sunday Night Football.” – Nick Shook
Yahoo! Sports: No.13 (Last Week No. 13)
“The Steelers can take a huge step toward the AFC North title. They play the Bengals on Sunday night and will have a big rest edge. They’re coming off a bye while the Bengals will play right after having a game in Spain, which is a tough turnaround. With a win the Steelers will clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bengals because of a season sweep.”
“In the first meeting, the Steelers won 30-27 and outgained the Bengals 411-352. They allowed Joe Burrow to throw for 282 yards and three touchdowns but also got 292 passing yards from Aaron Rodgers, 127 rushing yards from Jaylen Warren and took advantage of a muffed punt and a huge roughing the punter penalty by Cincinnati in the second half. Sunday’s rematch will go a long way in determining the division champion.”
– Frank Schwab
USA Today: No.13 (Last Week No.13)
“First place in the AFC North will be on the line Sunday night in Cincinnati. And the defense has gotten increasingly stingy for a group riding a four-game heater. Should be a fun one.” – Nate Davis
ESPN: No.13 (Last Week No. 13)
“For the second time in as many games, the Steelers are facing an AFC North opponent with first place in the division on the line. Quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals enter the rematch on a heater, while the Steelers will be well-rested after a bye and beat Cincinnati by a field goal in a high-scoring Week 3 game. With two games against the ailing Ravens also on the Steelers’ schedule, a win against the Bengals would go a long way to securing the division title — and earning a top-four playoff seed.” – Brooke Pryor
After a bye week, the Steelers did not move down in any of the rankings we observed. In fact, the Steelers moved up in several, even cracking the top 10 in the CBS Sports power rankings.
Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on Sunday Night Football. With a season sweep of the Bengals with the entire nation watching, it will not only strengthen their chances of winning the AFC North for the second straight year, but it will certainly gain them more respect in next week’s power rankings.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
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