NFL Power Rankings: Steelers inch closer to the top 10 after Week 12

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team coming off back-to-back wins, and a defense who has held two below average offenses to 16 points in two weeks. Some might say that is impressive regardless of opponent, but I wouldn’t want to sound too optimistic to the BTSC faithful.

The fact of the matter is the Steelers have a tough test ahead of them in the New York Giants. Eli Manning and company will be making the trip to Heinz Field to go head-to-head with Ben Roethlisberger and the boys in a must-watch showdown between inter-conference foes.

Besides the obvious excitement surrounding the Steelers heading into Sunday’s showdown, how do they compare to their NFL peers in the weekly Power Rankings? Yes, I realize there is no championship for Power Rankings. I also realize no one has won a Super Bowl after being crowned atop the Power Rankings. Nonetheless, I enjoy the debate it starts by looking at various sites.

Let’s see where the Steelers rank heading into Week 13.

ESPN

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New England Patriots
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. Denver Broncos
6. Kansas City Chiefs
7. Detroit Lions
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
“Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown have accounted for 63 percent of the Steelers' yards from scrimmage since Bell's return to the lineup, the highest of any duo since Week 4. They'll look to continue racking up yards against the Giants in Week 13.”

10. New York Giants

FOX Sports

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New England Patriots
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Kansas City Chiefs
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Detroit Lions
9. Denver Broncos
10. Miami Dolphins

12. Pittsburgh Steelers
“The Steelers went into their bye with decent playoff odds that got a bit worse thanks to the Ravens’ win. They need to figure out which team will show up each week given their concerning inconsistency this season.”

SB Nation

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New England Patriots
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Miami Dolphins
7. Seattle Seahawks
8. Washington Redskins
9. Kansas City Chiefs
10. Denver Broncos
11. Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL.com

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New England Patriots
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. New York Giants
6. Kansas City Chiefs
7. Denver Broncos
8. Detroit Lions
9. Atlanta Falcons
10. Washington Redskins

14. Pittsburgh Steelers
“When Antonio Brown is right -- and the Steelers' offense is right -- that dude is the best player in pro football. He's been more productive than any wideout in the NFL over the last three seasons (yes, even Julio Jones, sweetheart). Moreover, find someone who is better at his position than Brown is at wide receiver. J.J. Watt? Hurt. Rob Gronkowski? Hurt too often. Tom Brady? That's about the only other player to consider. I'm not a GIF guy, but if you haven't seen the one of Brown burning Vontae Davis on Thursday, it looked like the massive tornado from "The Day After Tomorrow" blew Davis over. Jake Gyllenhaal crushes hard on a girl in that movie, and tries to save Manhattan in the process. The world ends, but it doesn't. Better than "San Andreas," though. OK, we're done.”