The Pittsburgh Steelers see Aaron Rodgers as the answer to their quarterback situation, but he has yet to make a decision regarding the 2025 season. While some see him as a clear upgrade over Mason Rudolph, FS1’s Colin Cowherd doesn’t think it makes much of a difference for Pittsburgh. Cowherd sees the Steelers as the third-best team in the AFC North with or without Rodgers.
“I kinda see the Steelers as a third-place team, regardless,” Cowherd said Thursday on The Herd. “I think Cleveland is going all-in next year to get Arch Manning, they’ll finish fourth, I think the Ravens are clearly the best team, Cleveland’s clearly the worst. I’ll go with Joe Burrow over the [Steelers’] quarterback situation.”
Cowherd’s expressed a similar sentiment recently, claiming that the Steelers aren’t good enough to beat the Ravens or Bengals.
It’s not a hot take to say Pittsburgh doesn’t match up with the Ravens at the moment. While the Steelers have been able to take care of the Ravens in the regular season recently, they just weren’t at the same level to end the 2024 season. Pittsburgh traveled to Baltimore toward the end of the regular season last season and suffered a loss marked by a costly fumble and interception from Russell Wilson. In the Wild Card Round, they made the trek to Baltimore again and managed to put up one of the worst defensive performances in franchise history.
The Steelers have since added to their defensive line, especially in the middle. Both Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black should help against the run. However, they have similar problems at receiver, and even if Rodgers signs, it’s probably not a massive upgrade at quarterback. Nobody would look at you crazy for saying the Ravens are better.
As for the Bengals, that’s a bit closer. Compared to the Steelers, their roster is built nearly the opposite. Cincinnati has some of the best offensive weapons in the league, with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Steelers don’t have nearly the same firepower, but their defense looks much better. Especially with the ongoing Trey Hendrickson saga. Even after losing their last four regular-season games last season, the Steelers managed to finish above the Bengals.
It feels likely that all three of these teams will finish ahead of the Browns in 2025. The Ravens should be the favorite to win the division as well. However, it may be a little soon to peg the Steelers as the third-best team in the division. And if Aaron Rodgers does sign with them, there’s a decent argument that they could be better than the Bengals.
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