Steelers Somehow Lost During The Bye Week

The Pittsburgh Steelers were planning on a nice, relaxing bye week to rest up their players and get some other players back from injury. Many of them were likely watching the rest of the NFL to see what they have to face off against in the near future. What they saw was not pretty in the slightest. Despite not being on the field, the Steelers were victimized by Murphy's Law. Everything that could go wrong for the Steelers did. They can still bounce back, but they won't have help from the NFL. 

Steelers' Rivals Prevail In Week 6

For starters, the Baltimore Ravens went to London to get an expected win over the Tennessee Titans. Even with Kyle Hamilton being ejected for a dirty hit, the Ravens were able to shut down a weak passing game, with the Titans racking up more yards in sacks allowed than yards gained by all but one receiver. Even though that was expected, the Steelers have some work to do to take back the AFC North lead. 

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals were statistically worse than the Seattle Seahawks in nearly every category, but the Bengals defense was able to clamp down when it mattered most. Two 4th-quarter red zone drives resulted in zero points for the Seahawks and a 17-13 loss. They had every chance to beat the Bengals and keep up in their division, but they couldn't get it done. Now, the Bengals are back in the division race at 3-3. They are a half-game behind the Steelers and just one game behind the Ravens. 

The big story in the AFC North, however, is the game between the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were heavy favorites in the game, but Brock Purdy had the worst game of his NFL career as he was outplayed by PJ Walker. Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey both got injured, but the biggest blow to the offense was with the 49ers interior offensive line getting eaten alive all game long. 

Despite that, the 49ers had a late lead. An incomplete 3rd & 10 pass turned into a first down after a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty was called on the 49ers. That penalty, along with a questionable defensive holding, gave the Browns life as they went down field to kick a game-winning field goal. The 49ers got into field goal range at the last second, but shanked what would have been the game-winning 41-yard field goal. The AFC North finished 3-0 on the week.

Rest Of The AFC Doesn't Help The Steelers

Many of the other games were easy wins for the AFC teams, with every division winner getting a win against struggling teams like the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. The AFC South has been surprisingly solid all season, and the Houston Texans got a win over the New Orleans Saints to try and keep pushing for a potential playoff spot. 

For the primetime games, the Buffalo Bills seemingly have an easy win over the New York Giants with Tyrod Taylor starting behind a weak offensive line on Sunday Night Football. The Los Angeles Chargers have a much harder game, going against the Dallas Cowboys and their strong defense on Monday Night Football. 

In a week where there were seven AFC vs NFC games, the NFC couldn't step up and significantly underperformed. In the AFC vs AFC games, the Steelers still lost with teams like the Ravens and Texans winning their games. Pittsburgh fell to the fifth seed, with the chance to fall even farther. Many other teams are now right behind the Steelers for playoff positioning. 

The Steelers could still come out of the bye week and take what's theirs, but a week like this does not help. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, and the Steelers will have to make sure they rely on themselves to get into prime playoff positioning.

What do you think about the disastrous week for the Steelers, despite them not even playing? Let us know down in the comments. 

#SteelerNation.