The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Cleveland Browns 27-6 from start to finish on Sunday, earning sole possession of first place in the AFC North heading into the bye week. Pittsburgh rushed for 200 yards while holding Cleveland to season lows in points and rushing yards.
As always, let’s take our weekly look around the internet to see where the national media has the Steelers ranked in the power rankings roundup.
FOX Sports: No.13 (No. 13 Last Week)
“RB Jaylen Warren has just exploded in recent weeks, and he added another 157 rushing
yards in a rout of the Browns on Sunday. And it’s a good thing, too, because the Steelers are really not getting much out of Aaron Rodgers and the passing attack. The Steelers can win a lot of games like that, though, especially with a defense that sacked Browns QB Deshaun Watson eight times on Sunday. It’s not a typical Mike McCarthy team, to be sure. But it’s working and it might be good enough to get them to the playoffs.” – Ralph Vacchiano
The Athletic: No.12 (Last Week No.13)
“This is Jaylen Warren’s team now. The fifth-year running back is first in the league in rushing EPA (19.0), third in yards per carry after contact (4.14) and sixth in rushing yards (704). He tied his career high with 143 yards on 17 carries Sunday, which was also his 28th birthday. Five of Warren’s top nine career rushing games have come this season.” – Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
CBS Sports: No.10 (Last Week No. 15)
“They are 6-2 as they go to their bye, which has them in first place in their division. The pass rush and run game have really keyed their fast start.” – Pete Prisco
Pro Football Talk: No.8 (Last Week No. 10)
“The schedule is lining up favorably; a 12-win season isn’t out of the question.” – Mike Florio
NFL.com: No.12 (Last Week No.14)
“Don’t look now, but the Steelers are turning into a bully fit for an AFC North crown. Pittsburgh’s defense suffocated Deshaun Watson and the Browns’ offense, while Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle tore through Cleveland’s defense in an emphatic win to grab hold of the top spot in the division. This one felt like big brother shoving little brother back into his place — and giving him a noogie for good measure.” – Nick Shook
Yahoo! Sports: No.13 (Last Week No. 14)
“A team that has among the oldest rosters in the NFL and is 6-2 before the deadline might generally be a big buyer to make a push with an aging team. Yet, it doesn’t seem like there’s one move that can put the Steelers on the same level as some of the NFL’s elite teams.”
“Another receiver would be nice, but there’s a lot of money tied up in DK Metcalf, and someone like Josh Downs would be redundant with the skill set of intriguing rookie Germie Bernard. Perhaps adding Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. would make sense. Cornerback could help after trading away Joey Porter Jr., but the Steelers have been good at that position without him. An old team trading away valuable picks seems bad for the future. And a 6-2 team trading someone like edge rusher Alex Highsmith seems like the wrong move too. We might see Pittsburgh make a minor move or two but little else.” – Frank Schwab
USA Today: No.13 (Last Week No.16)
“The AFC North leaders have a league-high 26 sacks, yet rank 26th in the league with a 32.6% pressure rate. Go figure.” – Nate Davis
ESPN: No.13 (Last Week No. 14)
“Though the Steelers have been more active at the trade deadline under GM Omar Khan, the team doesn’t have a long history of impactful in-season trades. Still, the Steelers broke precedent in a major way when they acquired Fitzpatrick for a first-round pick early in the 2019 season. Though his production was inconsistent during his six seasons in Pittsburgh as his role in the defense shifted and morphed, he was undeniably a cerebral and impactful player. Fitzpatrick’s best season came in 2022, when he recorded a career-high six interceptions, including a pick-six.” – Brooke Pryor
Despite four straight wins and currently holding the three seed in the AFC playoff picture, only one major media outlet places the Steelers inside the top 10 of their power rankings. Considering the fact that the Steelers need another wide receiver on the outside to supplement their passing attack, and a corner to sure up their secondary, this is reasonable. With that being said, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers see any movement in their rankings over their bye week should they make an addition prior to the NFL trade deadline on November 10th.
Heading into the bye, the Steelers are exactly where they need to be to have a chance to repeat as the AFC North champions.
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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