The Steelers didn't play football in Week 5, but gained a lot of ground in the AFC North as the Ravens, Bengals and Browns all lost their respective games. But, if any team knows a division race isn't over in early October, it's the Steelers.
This is the same team that failed to win the division after a 10-3 start last season. While the Steelers are 3-1 while the Bengals are 2-3 and Raven and Browns are both 1-4, they aren't wasting time staring at the standings.
"I know we're sitting pretty good, but we're not really focused on that," Joey Porter Jr. said after Monday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We're focused on getting better, keep stacking these days. We had a good week off. Now it's just getting our groove back and fighting to get strong."
The Steelers can position themselves even better with wins over their next two games. They've got the Browns at home this Sunday, then travel to Cincinnati the following Thursday night to face a Bengals team sans Joe Burrow.
However, heading into Week 6, the Ravens still remain the betting favorite to win the AFC North, despite a horrid 1-4 start. And, with a Week 6 matchup against the Rams, the Ravens could very well be 1-5 heading into their bye in Week 7. However, there are a few reasons why Baltimore is still the betting favorite.
First, healthy or not, the start of the Ravens' schedule was absolutely brutal. They opened up in Buffalo and lost by one point. They trampled the Browns in Week 2. Then, they lost by one score to the Lions and lost by 17 points to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, all while losing Lamar Jackson to a hamstring injury.
Of all the teams dealing with attrition, no team comes close to the Ravens. Jackson's now missed one game and will likely miss more. On top of that, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, Ronnie Stanley and Patrick Ricard all missed Sunday's game against the Texans, which -- fair or unfair -- played a role in the getting routed, 44-10. That's a lot of Pro Bowl talent that's not on the field. It's hard for any team to overcome that. And with their bye approaching, they could be getting some of those players back when they take the field in Week 8.
Should the Ravens get healthy when they return from their bye, their schedule lightens up in a hurry. They start with the Bears at home in Week 8. Then they go on a three-game road trip, but a trip to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 10 is sandwiched between trips to Miami and Cleveland, two very winnable games. And, it's clear the Vikings aren't as formidable as their 2024 counterpart.
The Ravens then come home for three straight games in Weeks 12-14 against the Jets, Bengals and Steelers, with a trip to Cincinnati for a quick rematch to follow in Week 15. Their final three games include some tough matchups, including the Patriots at home in Week 16, the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 17 then a trip to Acrisure Stadium to face the Steelers in the season finale.
If the Ravens get a good amount of those players back, they could realistically go on a run in late October, November and early December. The biggest concern for Baltimore, possibly even more than injuries, might be the performance of their defense. They currently have the second-worst pass defense, fourth-worst rush defense and, to top it all off, the worst scoring defense in the league at 35.4 points allowed per game. Even if they get everyone healthy, that's a unit that has other issues other than attrition. The Steelers have had their own attrition on defense, but have not performed nearly as badly as the Ravens' defense.
For the Steelers, they need to use the bye week not only as a period to regain some health, but also make adjustments to become a better team. They are 3-1, but it's not been without flaws. The bye week has previously served this team very well, especially in recent seasons. In 2022, the bye week was the difference between a 2-6 start and 9-8 finish to the season.
Specifically, the defense was quite underwhelming in the team's first two games. However, they started to rebound in wins over the Patriots and Vikings, taking the ball away seven times and sacking the quarterback 11 times. If the defense continues to trend in that direction, as long as the offense doesn't regress, this Steelers team should be able to capitalize on the early demise of their division rivals.
"We could be better out there," Porter said. "We've played some pretty good ball, but there's more meat on the bone, as Coach (Mike Tomlin) likes to say. We're still hungry for it. We still know we can be one of the great defenses out there. That's what we're striving for. That's our mindset."
THE ASYLUM
Steelers' focus is internal, not on standings
The Steelers didn't play football in Week 5, but gained a lot of ground in the AFC North as the Ravens, Bengals and Browns all lost their respective games. But, if any team knows a division race isn't over in early October, it's the Steelers.
This is the same team that failed to win the division after a 10-3 start last season. While the Steelers are 3-1 while the Bengals are 2-3 and Raven and Browns are both 1-4, they aren't wasting time staring at the standings.
"I know we're sitting pretty good, but we're not really focused on that," Joey Porter Jr. said after Monday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We're focused on getting better, keep stacking these days. We had a good week off. Now it's just getting our groove back and fighting to get strong."
The Steelers can position themselves even better with wins over their next two games. They've got the Browns at home this Sunday, then travel to Cincinnati the following Thursday night to face a Bengals team sans Joe Burrow.
However, heading into Week 6, the Ravens still remain the betting favorite to win the AFC North, despite a horrid 1-4 start. And, with a Week 6 matchup against the Rams, the Ravens could very well be 1-5 heading into their bye in Week 7. However, there are a few reasons why Baltimore is still the betting favorite.
First, healthy or not, the start of the Ravens' schedule was absolutely brutal. They opened up in Buffalo and lost by one point. They trampled the Browns in Week 2. Then, they lost by one score to the Lions and lost by 17 points to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, all while losing Lamar Jackson to a hamstring injury.
Of all the teams dealing with attrition, no team comes close to the Ravens. Jackson's now missed one game and will likely miss more. On top of that, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, Ronnie Stanley and Patrick Ricard all missed Sunday's game against the Texans, which -- fair or unfair -- played a role in the getting routed, 44-10. That's a lot of Pro Bowl talent that's not on the field. It's hard for any team to overcome that. And with their bye approaching, they could be getting some of those players back when they take the field in Week 8.
Should the Ravens get healthy when they return from their bye, their schedule lightens up in a hurry. They start with the Bears at home in Week 8. Then they go on a three-game road trip, but a trip to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 10 is sandwiched between trips to Miami and Cleveland, two very winnable games. And, it's clear the Vikings aren't as formidable as their 2024 counterpart.
The Ravens then come home for three straight games in Weeks 12-14 against the Jets, Bengals and Steelers, with a trip to Cincinnati for a quick rematch to follow in Week 15. Their final three games include some tough matchups, including the Patriots at home in Week 16, the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 17 then a trip to Acrisure Stadium to face the Steelers in the season finale.
If the Ravens get a good amount of those players back, they could realistically go on a run in late October, November and early December. The biggest concern for Baltimore, possibly even more than injuries, might be the performance of their defense. They currently have the second-worst pass defense, fourth-worst rush defense and, to top it all off, the worst scoring defense in the league at 35.4 points allowed per game. Even if they get everyone healthy, that's a unit that has other issues other than attrition. The Steelers have had their own attrition on defense, but have not performed nearly as badly as the Ravens' defense.
For the Steelers, they need to use the bye week not only as a period to regain some health, but also make adjustments to become a better team. They are 3-1, but it's not been without flaws. The bye week has previously served this team very well, especially in recent seasons. In 2022, the bye week was the difference between a 2-6 start and 9-8 finish to the season.
Specifically, the defense was quite underwhelming in the team's first two games. However, they started to rebound in wins over the Patriots and Vikings, taking the ball away seven times and sacking the quarterback 11 times. If the defense continues to trend in that direction, as long as the offense doesn't regress, this Steelers team should be able to capitalize on the early demise of their division rivals.
"We could be better out there," Porter said. "We've played some pretty good ball, but there's more meat on the bone, as Coach (Mike Tomlin) likes to say. We're still hungry for it. We still know we can be one of the great defenses out there. That's what we're striving for. That's our mindset."
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