The Pittsburgh Steelers have not won the AFC North since 2020. The division was created in 2002 as part of the NFL’s realignment and the Steelers have won the division in nine of the 20 seasons. Even with Ben Roethlisberger, who dominated AFC North opponents, Pittsburgh won eight of the first 15 division titles in the AFC North. The Steelers have had difficulty winning division titles recently, with only one first-place finish in the last five seasons.
Photo credit: Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Kenny Pickett went 2-2 against divisional opponents in his rookie season and the quickest route back to contention for the Steelers is dominating the AFC North. Pittsburgh still plays the physical brand of football that the division is known for, but for almost two decades, they enjoyed having the best quarterback in the division; and in the close divisional games, it made a huge difference. Pickett doesn’t have to be better than Joe Burrow for the Steelers to win, but he has to be able to make critical plays during the game to keep games close.
The rookie quarterback demonstrated the talent that made Roethlisberger special throughout his career. If he gets the ball last with a chance to win, he will complete a comeback in the fourth quarter. The Steelers play more one-score games than any other team in the NFL and with Matt Canada at the helm, that appears to be the plan for next season. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan's decision to retain Canada has to pay off or they have wasted a year of contention.
Steelers safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick (#39) races to the endzone for a pick-six in the Week 1 victory over the Bengals. Photo Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Burrow has enjoyed a meteoric rise the last two seasons and the Steelers are 1-3 against the Bengals during that time. The Steelers played just about a perfect defensive game in the first week of the season to get the lone win in overtime 23-20 and fell 37-30 in Week 11. Pickett was razor-sharp during the first half and outscored the Bengals 20-17, but the offense sputtered in the third quarter before scoring a late touchdown to make the game appear closer than it actually was in the second half.
The Bengals are the target with all due respect to the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns who are in various stages of disarray at this point. It is likely that no matter what happens this week in the AFC Championship game, Burrow will sign a very large extension that will begin to hamper the Bengals ability to sign quality free agents to long-term contracts. The Steelers are about to have the advantage of being the only team in the division with real flexibility in free agency.
The Steelers are careful in free agency and target a specific type of player when they elect to bring a player in. The Bengals used free agency to revamp their defense and offensive lines and while they didn’t overspend per se, the Bengals will have the same tough decisions the Steelers had when Roethlisberger was earning top-of-the-market quarterback money. It won't send them to the bottom of the division, but the Steelers are familiar with the issues of having a highly paid quarterback that forces uncomfortable decisions on personnel.
Even if Burrow follows in Patrick Mahomes' footsteps and takes a team-friendly half-billion-dollar deal, it is going to hurt. Mahomes lost Tyreek Hill because he wanted top-of-the-market money. The Kansas City Chiefs elected to let him walk because they couldn’t afford him, not because they didn’t want him. Burrow is either going to lose a playmaker like Tee Higgins or important pieces on the defense. Either way, it allows the Steelers to be the most complete team in the division.
Almost the entire AFC is facing this problem long-term and how the Steelers build and identify their core is going to be the long-term difference in the AFC North. In the short term, the Steelers simply have to put the right pieces around Pickett and build a complete team with a few key additions that can take advantage of the cap, just like Kansas City did before they signed Mahomes, and Cincinnati has presently with Burrow.
It can also go very wrong. The Buffalo Bills gambled their pieces were good enough when they signed Josh Allen and found out they were a lot further away this past Sunday. Football is a team game where an elite quarterback can make all the difference. The NFL is paying a dozen quarterbacks like they are elite at this point and that number is about to be nearly half the league. The Dallas Cowboys responded to the pressure of paying Dak Prescott and they are paying the price for overpaying for mediocrity.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
There aren’t 15 elite quarterbacks in the NFL, so that means the NFL paradigm has changed. The Super Bowl window opens the minute your rookie proves he can be above average, and it doesn’t last long. It is extra pressure for Pickett, but the Steelers have two, maybe three seasons to take advantage. There is no time to lose.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you think the Steelers are ready to dominate the NFL? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
