Steelers’ snapped win streak prompts power rankings drop ahead of Week 9

The Pittsburgh Steelers are back on the wrong end of the stick, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8. However, they have a quick turnaround with a game tomorrow night against the Tennessee Titans.

Here’s a look at where the Steelers are in power rankings across the internet:

NFL.com writer Eric Edholm ranked the Steelers at No. 15, two spots lower than last week.

Two straight wins had Steelers fans believing again. Then came Sunday’s defeat to the Jaguars, which was painful in multiple ways, with two of Pittsburgh’s most indispensable players, S Minkah Fitzpatrick and QB Kenny Pickett, exiting with injuries. Fitzpatrick is arguably the Steelers’ most important piece, both because of his skill and because of the drop-off behind him on the depth chart. The fact that his hamstring injury happened ahead of a short week makes it even less ideal. The next two games (home vs. the Titans and Packers) are winnable, but Tennessee enters the upcoming Thursday Night Football matchup with confidence after Will Levis’ sparkling debut. While the sailing never figured to be smooth for these Steelers, navigating this stretch — potentially with backups playing significant roles — will be key before they face a tough road duo to close out November (at Cleveland, at Cincinnati).

The Athletic’s Josh Kendall at No. 12, one spot higher than last week

Kenny Pickett had to leave Sunday’s game with a rib injury, but does it matter who the quarterback is with offensive coordinator Matt Canada in charge? Canada has been in charge of Pittsburgh’s offense since 2021. In that time, the Steelers are 29th in the NFL in scoring (18.63 ppg). Since the start of last season, Pittsburgh is dead last in scoring (17.5 ppg), and still, there’s no indication that Tomlin is going to get rid of Canada.

Bleacher Report had the Steelers at No. 19, five spots lower than last week.

The Steelers have bigger problems right now than the zebras. They have even bigger problems than losing to arguably the NFL’s hottest team. Both quarterback Kenny Pickett and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left Sunday’s game with injuries, and the Steelers have a short turnaround before facing the Titans on Thursday night—and very little margin for error in an AFC North where all four teams are over .500.