Steelers News: Going around the AFC North after the first wave of Free Agency

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at the rest of the AFC North to see how they all did in the first wave of NFL Free Agency.

Let’s get to the news:

• The Ravens, Bengals and Browns all had interesting first weeks in free agency, we take a look at what everyone did last week.

NFL Division-by-Division Rankings After First Week of 2020 Free Agency

By: Alex Ballnetine, Bleacher Report

2019 Standings

Ravens 14-2

Steelers 8-8

Browns 6-10

Bengals 2-14

There’s a reason to be optimistic about all four teams in the AFC North.

The Baltimore Ravens disappointed in the playoffs, but no one was better in the regular season. Teams have a full season’s worth of film to break down on Lamar Jackson and devise schemes to slow him down. They won’t be able to fully stop him, but it will be difficult for Baltimore to go 14-2 again. Still, it will be a Super Bowl contender.

Pittsburgh remained relevant despite subpar quarterback play from Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. It retained Bud Dupree and one of the better one-two pass-rushing combos in the league with him and T.J. Watt. That doesn’t seem like much, but the Steelers are rarely bad. They haven’t had a losing season since 2003, and the return of Ben Roethlisberger will give them a chance to keep that streak going.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• The 10 greatest players in Steelers history, according to a CBS sports writer.

The 10 greatest players in Steelers history: From Joe Greene to Troy Polamalu and more of Pittsburgh’s best

By: Bryan DeArdo, CBSPorts

Since 1972, no NFL team has been as consistently good as the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the 1970s, the Steelers were so dominant that NFL Films narrator John Facenda once said, “There are 27 teams in the National Football League, and then, there are the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Since ‘72, the year Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception gave the franchise its first playoff victory, the Steelers have enjoyed riches few other NFL franchises have ever reached. From 1974-79, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in a six-year span, a feat that has yet to be matched. Two decades later, the Blizburgh Steelers won five straight division titles while appearing on three AFC title games as well as the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl.

In the 2000s, the Steelers added to their collection of Vince Lombardi Trophies, winning Super Bowls XL and XLIII behind a young quarterback, two passionate coaches and a dominant defense. Pittsburgh advanced to its ninth Super Bowl as the start of this decade, and they will leave the decade with at least three more division titles and a 16th AFC championship game appearance.

While Art and Dan Rooney, draft specialists Art Rooney Jr. and Bill Nunn, and head coaches Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin (among others) were key contributors to Pittsburgh’s success over the past 47 years, the men who made up those Steelers teams are who we are choosing to recognize while selecting the 10 greatest players in the franchise’s last half century.

With the help of Coach Cowher, former Steelers Super Bowl winning cornerback and current CBS NFL analyst Bryant McFadden and CBS writer Ryan Wilson, here is my list of the 10 greatest Steelers since 1972.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• A look back at the 2008 AFC Championship game...this never gets old.

Sunday Rewind: 2008 AFC Championship Game

By: Steelers.com

It is a game that Steelers fans will never forget.

The Steelers defeated the Ravens, 23–14, in a hard-fought AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on Jan. 18, 2009.

Pittsburgh, who finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and entered the playoffs as the second seed, opened the fourth quarter with a 16-7 lead. Baltimore scored a touchdown with 9:32 left, pulling the Ravens to within two, 16-14. But Troy Polamalu intercepted a Joe Flacco pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 4:39 remaining, sealing the victory.

Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Steve Tasker were on the call for CBS.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• BTSC articles you may have missed...

Updating the Steelers Free Agent Tracker

An updated look at the Steelers compensatory formula

Should fans be worried about Diontae Johnson working out with Antonio Brown?

• Social Media Madness