NFL Power Rankings, Week 13: Bump in the road drops the Steelers out of the Top 5

The only consistent aspect of the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the season were their inconsistencies.

After an opening week tie with the Cleveland Browns, followed by a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Steelers had shown it all — amazing offense, head-scratching play calling and shoddy defense, among others.

Needless to say, the Steelers experienced a precipitous drop in the weekly NFL Power Rankings because of their poor play which resulted in a 0-1-1 record heading into Week 3. However, a 30-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football had the Steelers on the rise. Right on cue, the next week they suffered a 26-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, the Pittsburgh roller coaster was again on the decline.

Have no fear Steelers fans, a dominant performance in Week 5 vs. the Atlanta Falcons in followed by a big win over the Cincinnati Bengals had the team continuing on their upward trend. Or as Mike Tomlin would say, “The arrow is pointing up.”

Inconsistent was the theme early with this team, but they seemed to have been rectified this after beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9 and the Carolina Panthers in Week 10, extending their winning streak to five straight games. A narrow victory in Jacksonville over the Jaguars moved the Steelers’ win streak to six games, and continued their ascent in the weekly rankings.

If fans were thinking things were too good to be true, the Denver Broncos slapped a big fat ‘L’ on the Steelers’ schedule in Week 12 — dropping the team down the rankings in the process.

In reality, these power rankings mean nothing, but they’re great for conversation and debate. This week, the Steelers saw themselves stay in the Top 10, but back out of the Top 5.

Check out the rankings, and let us know what you think in the comment section below!

ESPN

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Los Angeles Chargers
5. New England Patriots
6. Chicago Bears
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
“Toughest game left: Week 16 at New Orleans. The Saints are the league’s hottest team and have averaged 41.8 points per game in their past four Superdome games. The Steelers will be coming off an emotional matchup with the Patriots in Week 15 and will most likely need this victory to keep the dream of a first-round playoff bye alive.”
8. Houston Texans
9. Minnesota Vikings
10. Seattle Seahawks

NFL.com

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. New England Patriots
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
“Ben Roethlisberger sure makes those goal-to-go end-game scenarios intriguing. A week after diving in the Jags’ end zone to win the day in Jacksonville, Roethlisberger tossed the ball to the other team’s nose tackle in the other team’s end zone. Still, this is not an appropriate time to be anxious if you’re a Steelers fan. Pittsburgh played consecutive games on the road, splitting against desperate teams clinging to scant playoff hopes, and the loss on Sunday came in Denver, a tough place to play. Roethlisberger did pass for well over 400 yards, while JuJu Smith-Schuster (13 catches, 189 yards) acted like he was in an arcade game. He might be forced to keep up the bean counting, because Philip Rivers and the electric Chargers offense come to town this week. Fun.”
7. Chicago Bears
8. Houston Texans
9. Minnesota Vikings
10. Seattle Seahawks

SB Nation

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Chicago Bears
5. New England Patriots
6. Los Angeles Chargers
7. Houston Texans
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Indianapolis Colts
10. Baltimore Ravens

USA Today

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. New England Patriots
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
“If they’d done right thing and continued deploying 6-9, 320-pounder Alejandro Villanueva in red zone, this other nonsense is immaterial.”
7. Houston Texans
8. Chicago Bears
9. Minnesota Vikings
10. Indianapolis Colts