PITTSBURGH — The season was just three weeks old and the AFC North race was only beginning to heat up when the Steelers boarded a plane for Ireland nearly two weeks ago.
At the time, Pittsburgh was tied atop the division with the Bengals at 2-1, with no guarantee it would stay that way for long. The Ravens were 1-2, their losses had been by one point to Buffalo in Week 1 and by one possession to the Lions in Week 3. Meanwhile, the Steelers were about to be tested by a Vikings defense known for dialing up pressure.
Fast forward to Monday morning. The 3-1 Steelers woke up from their bye week to find themselves alone in first place with an early but significant lead in the division.
“I really didn’t watch too much football,” receiver Calvin Austin III said. “I really just was spending some time with my family and trying to be present with them… but I saw it worked out for us very well over the weekend.”
To say it worked out well is an understatement. Over the past two weeks, things couldn’t have unfolded any better for the Steelers. Their 24-21 victory over the Vikings on the morning of Sept. 28? Yeah, that was the last time an AFC North team won a game.
As Week 4 continued, the Bengals were blown out by the Broncos on a Monday night, 28-3; the Browns were routed by the Lions, 34-10; and the Ravens fell to the Chiefs, 37-20. More significant than the defeat itself, the Ravens also lost more than half a dozen starters to injury, including star inside linebacker Roquan Smith, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, safety Kyle Hamilton and — most notably — Lamar Jackson.
In Week 5, while the Steelers sat idle, the rest of the division continued to unravel. The Bengals lost their third consecutive game in Joe Burrow’s absence, as backup Jake Browning threw three interceptions. The Browns blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Vikings in a 21-17 loss. And the Ravens, down to what is virtually their JV roster, were blown out by the Texans, 44-10.
The Steelers have more than just a commanding lead in the division. They’re the one team in the division not in total disarray. The Ravens are reeling, their defense can’t stop anyone and they likely won’t get Jackson back from his hamstring injury until after their Week 7 bye. Burrow is still months away from a return for the Bengals and each game he misses is another reminder of how much he’s carried that team on his back. And the Browns have already made one quarterback switch.
“It’s nice to be sitting where we’re at,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen said. “But we’ve definitely got to handle business this week (and) just try to set ourselves up for the end of the season.”
To make matters worse for the rest of the division, things could get worse before they get better. The Ravens and Bengals are expected to be without their star quarterbacks this week against two legitimate NFC contenders — the Bengals visit the Packers and the Ravens host the Rams. Meanwhile, the Browns have to fly back from London and then travel to Pittsburgh, where rookie Dillon Gabriel will make his second career NFL start. The well-rested Steelers have a week of Gabriel film to dissect and could get back from injuries cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.
The Steelers are favorites in Vegas this week and should be again for the Week 7 “Thursday Night Football” game in Cincinnati. While the Steelers always find a way to lose at least one game they shouldn’t each year, a 5-1 start to the season seems well within reach.
“It was nice to see those teams lose this week,” Highsmith acknowledged. “We’ve got to take advantage of these next couple of games, especially since we have two AFC North teams coming up. We’ve got to be able to start 2-0 in the division to set the tone for the year.”
Two years ago, when Aaron Rodgers signed with the Jets, Super Bowl hype immediately followed. However, the response was much more measured this year when the 41-year-old QB joined the Steelers. In Vegas, oddsmakers predicted the Steelers would finish third in the AFC North and outside of the playoffs. That dynamic is already starting to shift, to a degree. According to FanDuel, the Ravens are still the favorite to win the division with -105 odds to the Steelers +130. However, many pundits are beginning to look at the Steelers differently in an AFC full of underachievers.
“We don’t care,” Queen said. “We don’t pay no attention to it. We just go out there and play football and try to do it at a high level. All the other stuff, the’s for social media and the fans and stuff. We couldn’t care less. We’re just trying to put ourselves in the best position for the end of the season.”
The truth is, the other three teams in the AFC North represent one small fraction of the competition. Just because the Ravens are struggling, Jackson and Burrow are injured and the Browns are still the Browns, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Steelers are any closer to competing with true contenders in January. The team knows it.
“We’ve got handle our business,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “I mean, it’s Week 6. We got to handle what we need to do. We need to win our games before we can start watching other things.”
Just last year, the Steelers had the inside track to win the division only to see it slip away amid a four-game losing streak to close out the regular season. It marked the fourth time in the past six years the Steelers lost three or more games in a row in December. Later this year, Steelers will play the Bills, Ravens and Lions in a four-week stretch after Thanksgiving. They also have more challenging games on the horizon against the 2-1 Packers, the surprising Colts and the competitive Chargers. So while an early lead is nice, it only matters if the Steelers can capitalize upon it.
“At the end of the day, that really doesn’t matter,” Austin said. “If we worry about other teams and them losing or winning, then our head is in the wrong spot. We’ve just got to worry about us.”
