The Pittsburgh Steelers entered their bye week at 6-2. That was quite encouraging, but most people said that the back half of the schedule would show whether the Steelers were pretenders or contenders.
After all, they had to face the surprising Washington Commanders before kicking off their AFC North schedule (with games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs thrown in for good measure). So, most people were saying the Steelers were a good story but would shortly fall back to earth.
Yet the Steelers won their first two games coming out of the bye. That included Sunday’s 18-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens to solidify their spot atop the AFC North.