The 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers are the definition of inconsistent. They started hot with a 4-1 record, then had back-to-back brutal losses against Cincinnati and Green Bay. Then they rebounded with a terrific home win against Indianapolis to raise the mood. But that mood came crashing back down with another ugly loss to Los Angeles on Sunday. Now, the Steelers have just a one-game advantage over the Ravens in the AFC North. And former NFL scout John Middlekauff isn’t expecting that lead to last for long.
“When I look at this operation [Steelers], and I look at the Baltimore Ravens, I’ll be the first to say, I did not see this coming a month ago. I was completely wrong. I think when the dust settles, the Baltimore Ravens are in first place by the end of the month,” Middlekauff said Sunday on his 3 & Out podcast.
Middlekauff is right about being wrong about the Steelers. When they were 4-1, he claimed the divisional race was already over. And to his credit, it’s not like that was a hot take. Every other team had injury problems, and the Steelers had a stranglehold on the division after just five games.
To go from that take, to now believing the Ravens will lead the division in just a couple weeks is a massive difference. But it goes to show how bad the Steelers have been recently. Since that 4-1 start, they’ve now lost three of their last four. And it happens to come at a time when the Ravens have won three straight after starting the year 1-5.
There’s three weeks of football left in November, so it’s certainly possible the Ravens take the lead by then. Their next three matchups feature Cleveland, the New York Jets and Cincinnati. Especially with Lamar Jackson back, those three games all feel winnable. If they do win all three, they’d sit at 7-5 heading into the Week 14 matchup against the Steelers.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have to play Cincinnati, Chicago and Buffalo in that same span. We know this team is capable of rebounding after a bad loss, à la the win over the Colts a couple weeks ago. But they already lost to Cincinnati, and the Bears are on their own winning streak as well. And we all know how talented Buffalo is. If the Ravens win their next three, the Steelers have to win two of those games to at least stay tied.
We all know how important the Week 14 and 18 matchups are against Baltimore. They very well could decide the division. However, if the Steelers aren’t careful, they might fall behind before they even face the Ravens.
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