Steelers power rankings
Steelers power rankings
Just when it seemed like the Pittsburgh Steelers would be able to shake off a rough Week 1 performance by going on the road and finding a way to win in Foxboro, the bottom seemingly fell out on them.
The Steelers were thoroughly throttled by the New England Patriots in a 20-3 loss as the offense did very little, generating just 3.5 yards per play. While the defense stood tall and played well enough to win despite allowing six explosive plays, including a 39-yard touchdown run, the offensive ineptitude did in Pittsburgh, dropping the Steelers to 1-1 in the Mike McCarthy era.
Now, the outside noise is getting louder, especially with the offense looking like it’s in the wrong era, which is incredibly concerning considering McCarthy was hired to replace Mike Tomlin due to his offensive acumen.
Choppy seas are ahead, starting in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals in AFC North football. The noise is loud, and the Steelers are viewed as a bad team right now, at least when it comes to the NFL media landscape and power rankings.
Below is a chart of aggregate power rankings from several major outlets.
Outlet Rank +/-
CBS Sports/Prisco 22 -2
ESPN 25 -4
NFL.com/Edholm 26 -3
Pro Football Talk/Florio 18 -1
The Athletic 21 -5
Average Rank 22.4 -3.0
After sitting as a fringe top-20 team the last two weeks, the Steelers are comfortably on the outside looking in on the top 20 entering Week 3.
Pittsburgh’s biggest fall came in The Athletic’s power rankings, dropping from No. 16 last week to No. 21 this week, a 5-spot slide. That about sums up the Steelers at the moment.
For CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, it all comes down to the offense, as the defense remains good enough to win football games.
“The offense isn’t doing a lot so far this season, which has to be a concern,” Prisco writes. “The defense played well enough to win at New England.”
Through two weeks the Steelers’ defense has been very good under new coordinator Patrick Graham. The Steelers are generating a ton of pressures, as the outside linebackers in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig are driving the bus. The defensive line has had its moments, too.
The secondary remains a bit of a concern, especially with Rayshawn Jenkins playing significant snaps right now. But there’s not much to be concerned with defensively.
Offensively, it’s an entirely different story. Aaron Rodgers looked his age in Week 2, though the offensive line did him no favors with next to no protection. There is no run game to speak of currently, and the receiving corps has struggled with drops and the inability to consistently separate within routes.
McCarthy stated he needs to be better, and Rodgers said after the Patriots loss that players need to take accountability for their performance — himself included. The Steelers had better hope that happens right away, or this season could derail quickly.