Peter King puts Steelers in the top 10 in latest power rankings, still can’t get over backup QBs

Peter King released his power rankings yesterday, with the Steelers ranked 10th in the NFL coming off an 8-8 season. They aren’t the only non-playoff team to make it this high, as King ranked 3 teams with 8 or fewer wins in 2019 higher than the Steelers.

But while King’s rankings are questionable, his final analysis of the team is spot on.

[Ben Roethlisberger] had two significant weapons added to his arsenal: 238-pound rookie receiver Chase Claypool and free-agent tight end Eric Ebron. The defense, with ace safety Minkah Fitzpatrick likely better after being thrown into the starting lineup with the September trade from Miami, should be a top-five NFL D again. Pittsburgh led the NFL with 54 sacks and 38 takeaways in 2019 . . . and lost only defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (in free agency, to the Eagles) from its core. Healthy, this is a Super Bowl-contending team. Without Roethlisberger for any lengthy period, Pittsburgh will struggle to be the sixth or seventh seed in the AFC.

Can’t really disagree with that.

King also points out Ben Roethlisberger has missed games in three of the four seasons before 2019, with the most being 5 in 2015. While Peter King is baffled that Kevin Colbert didn’t bring in a better backup for the Steelers, I think Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges could handle a five game stretch and win 2 or 3 of those games.

Peter King ranked only the Ravens ahead of the Steelers in the AFC North, with the Browns and Bengals both in the bottom ten of the league.

You can find Peter King’s full article HERE.