Steelers head out of their bye with a massive win in Week 5 despite Pittsburgh not playing a game
The first thing every team does when the NFL schedule is released in May, is take a look at their bye week. The Pittsburgh Steelers, having the earliest possible bye, we're probably less than pleased on first glance.
In reality, the bye came at a pretty good time. Coming off an overseas trip that saw the team end the first month of the season 3-1 and battered with injuries, there is probably little complaining on the southside of Pittsburgh right now.
That is especially true when considering what happened to the rest of the AFC North on Sunday.
Steelers build on AFC North lead after the rest of the AFC North loses on Sunday
The Steelers have an opportunity in front of them that they cannot squander. They play the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 before taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 on Thursday night. If they can win both of those games, with the way the Baltimore Ravens are playing and no Joe Burrow in Cincy, the Steelers can put a chokehold on the division lead before Halloween.
Maybe that sounds hyperbolic, but the Bengals cannot win without Joe Burrow. The Ravens can have Lamar Jackson or Dan Marino at quarterback, and it still wouldn't matter with how bad their defense is. As for the Browns, well we know they are the Browns.
So if you're the Steelers, you cannot waste what's in front of you. Pittsburgh and Mike Tomlin cannot afford to play down to their competition the way they have for the past decade. Pittsburgh has to keep its foot on the gas and aim for the division crown.
In order to see what an outside observer thinks of the Steelers' chances, I reached out to Adam Holt who helps cover the AFC North at A to Z Sports.
Steelers can't afford to get comfortable
"In the NFL, it’s tough to have an awesome weekend when you don’t hit the gridiron. That’s exactly how the Steelers probably feel right now, though. They had an early bye week to give some rest to banged up players and possibly get some back from injury in Week 6."
"Additionally, the entire AFC North embarrassed themselves in some capacity. The Ravens were completely lifeless on both sides of the football against Houston. Without Lamar Jackson and key defensive starters, they are no threat in the division. The Browns blew a late lead to the Vikings to begin action on Sunday morning. The Bengals are still having major issues on defense, and their offense looks much weaker with Jake Browning at quarterback. He’s turning the ball over a ton, and that’s a trend, not an anomaly now."
"Pittsburgh can’t sit back and get comfortable here, though. They need to continue winning games they should and find ways to improve their roster in smart ways at the trade deadline, especially in the secondary and at potentially wide receiver depth." - Holt
So it feels like their is alignment here. The Steelers have to grab the bull by the horns. They have to pounce instead of play with their food. That starts with showing they can beat inferior opponents the next two weeks.
Discussion: Are the Detroit Lions currently the best team in the NFL?
Week 1 seems like such a long time ago. After an initial disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers, there was some panic surrounding the Detroit Lions. Had the loss of both coordinators taken a toll? Were the Packers now the team to beat in the NFC North, the NFC, and the NFL?
Since then, the Lions have rattled off four wins in a row, and their 4-1 record now has them sitting amongst the best in the NFL. They have reached that position in style too, blowing out opponents left and right while playing complementary football. The Lions are not a perfect football team, but you would be lying if you said they were not playing great football.
Does this recent performance streak make Detroit deserving of a top spot on the upcoming power rankings?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Are the Detroit Lions currently the best team in the NFL?
My answer: I believe so.
At first, I was hesitant to give the Lions the nod, since I think they have a depth issue in the secondary. After another game in which Terrion Arnold left early with a shoulder injury, the Lions also saw Rock Ya-Sin exit with an undisclosed injury. Already down D.J. Reed for the foreseeable future, that left Detroit scraping the bottom of their depth chart with Avonte Maddox and Tre Flowers. If the Lions lose any more defensive backs, whether a cornerback or a safety like Kerby Joseph or Brian Branch, the depth will be severely tested.
However, if that is the Lions’ main weakness through five games, that still puts them in great standing compared to the rest of the NFL. Looking at the rest of the 4-1 teams in the league, I see far more pressing flaws.
In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills just lost to the New England Patriots, thanks in part to a below-average offensive output, while their defense is closer to below average than above. The Indianapolis Colts have seen a resurgence with Daniel Jones at the helm, but they have also beat up on some bad teams (Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders)—plus, is this version of Jones a mirage? Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars are 3-1 thanks to a bye and “Monday Night Football” still to play, respectively, but neither team looks like a Super Bowl contender.
In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles have been a horrific passing offense, and with Saquon Barkley struggling on the ground compared to last year, they are a team mainly carried by their defense. The San Francisco 49ers have made do with Mac Jones relieving an injured Brock Purdy, but with injuries mounting left and right, how long can they hold on—much like the Lions last year, at some point, the injuries become insurmountable. I think that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers deserve plenty of credit for their multiple comebacks, but having won their four games by a combined nine points, that is a razor-thin margin of error—these types of coin-flip wins can be unsustainable.
The Lions had their hiccup against the Packers in Week 1, but since then, is it fair to call this team dominant? They steamrolled the Bears in a Ben Johnson revenge game. They handled the Baltimore Ravens in a game that many expected them to lose. They blew out the Cleveland Browns with ease in a full team effort. Now they defeated the Bengals 37-24, a score that would have looked far more lopsided if not for the aforementioned cornerback injuries.
Sure, the injuries could be catastrophic for the Lions—we saw a glimpse of this with Giovanni Manu at left tackle over an injured Taylor Decker. However, I think there are few teams in NFL that are truly capable of handling injuries to key starters. You can be concerned about the Lions’ depth at certain positions, but it is also not worth panicking about until those injuries actually arise.
What the Lions have right now is an elite offense averaging almost 35 points per game, while also boasting a defense that has played some stellar lockdown football of late. The Lions look like the belle of the ball thus far. Let’s hope that persists for a few more months.
