The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team in limbo. No one knows which team will show up every week. Will it be a dominant running game, a pass-happy approach, a suffocating defense or a defense which gives up more big plays than they create?
The main problem is it doesn’t look as if the team has any idea what is about to happen either, but they keep winning. After winning their sixth game in a row on Sunday night, a 31-28 win over the Packers, the Steelers advanced their record to 9-2...still atop the AFC.
However, you wouldn’t know it if you pay attention to the weekly NFL Power Rankings. Most of the weekly rankings have the Steelers dropping, despite winning. This is when the rankings like these get annoying, because they mean absolutely nothing and are focused almost entirely on style points. Where a win isn’t just a win, but a pretty win weighs more than one which is considered “ugly”.
Nonetheless, despite meaning nothing, power rankings are great for debate. Check out some of the rankings below, and feel free to chime in on said rankings in the comment section below!
ESPN
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. New England Patriots
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
“Le'Veon Bell leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage and Antonio Brown leads all wide receivers. Their 2,572 combined yards from scrimmage are most by a pair of teammates this season.”
5. Minnesota Vikings
6. New Orleans Saints
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Atlanta Falcons
10. Los Angeles Chargers
NFL.com
1 Philadelphia Eagles
2 New England Patriots
3 Minnesota Vikings
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
“Shocking that the Steelers played down to an opponent -- or not. After I gave coordinator Keith Butler and his defense much props on NFL Network last week, that group laid an egg smothered in melted cheese against the Packers late at Heinz on "Sunday Night Football." Green Bay quarterback Brett Hundley got hot, posting easily the finest performance of his career. Of course, a couple of those drives were short, seeing as how they followed Ben Roethlisberger picks. (One resulted in a TD, the other a missed field-goal try.) Still, on paper, this was supposed to be a 30-14 Pittsburgh win. Of course, football games aren't played on paper. That's never been more true than with the Mike Tomlin Steelers.”
5. Los Angeles Rams
6. New Orleans Saints
7. Carolina Panthers
8. Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Atlanta Falcons
10. Los Angeles Chargers
Sporting News
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. New England Patriots
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
“They made it interesting against the desperate Packers, but for a second straight game, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell took over. That's a great sign before the big showdown with the Patriots just around the corner.”
4. Minnesota Vikings
5. Los Angeles Rams
6. New Orleans Saints
7. Carolina Panthers
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Tennessee Titans
10. Jacksonville Jaguars