Going into the regular season, the Steelers were eighth in the NFL power rankings on SB Nation. After their frustrating defeat to the Patriots, marked by ineptitude in the secondary and a poor performance by special teams, they have fallen to No. 12.
They weren't the only team who fell in the standings, in fact, take a look at where the rest of the AFC North is listed in the latest Power Rankings.
AFC North Standings
11. Cincinnati Bengals
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
13. Baltimore Ravens
29. Cleveland Browns
The Cincinnati Bengals were the only team in the AFC North to win in Week 1, managing an easy victory over the Oakland Raiders. They jumped up in the standings from 13 to 11. The Ravens suffered a loss to the Denver Broncos, which knocked them down in the rankings to No. 13. Going into the regular season, they were ranked ahead of the Steelers at No. 7. Finally, the Cleveland Browns suffered defeat at the hands of the New York Jets. They fell to No. 29 from No. 27 in the preseason.
Top 10
- Patriots
- Packers
- Broncos
- Cardinals
- Chiefs
- Bills
- Cowboys
- Seahawks
- Eagles
- Colts
The main surprise on this list is the Buffalo Bills. It wasn't necessarily a surprise in light of their win over the Colts, but going into the season, they were ranked 19. The Seahawks' defeat by the
Rams dropped them down to No. 8 after holding the top spot coming out of the preseason.
Other teams of note
The Rams, despite a strong performance and victory against the Seahawks, are now ranked No. 15 after starting the season at No. 23. The
Tennessee Titans had been at the bottom of the list. They now rank No. 27 after their Week 1 victory, while the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped one spot to end up the last team on the list at No. 32.
Week 2
The Steelers face off against the
49ers who are coming off of a sloppy victory against the
Minnesota Vikings. San Francisco is ranked No. 16 after their win, so a Steelers loss to a lower-ranked team would surely cause them to plummet in the standings and also cause much concern or panic for fans.