AFC North Power Rankings Week 5: Browns, Steelers, Bengals all stumble
• Pittsburgh and Cincy also lost in Week 4
• Browns are just 2-2 but still can strike in the AFC North
By Randy Gurzi
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
If there was any solace for Cleveland Browns fans in Week 4 — it would have to be how bad the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers looked. Sure, the Browns lost in embarrassing fashion but they were without their No. 1 quarterback. But the Steelers and Bengals had their franchise signal-callers (to start the game anyway) and still were blown out of the building.
For the Steelers, it was a shocking 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans. Kenny Pickett was really off his game with 114 yards and a pick on 15-of-23 passing. He even had to leave with a knee injury. Mitchell Trubisky replaced the second-year quarterback but wasn't much better.
So why are the Steelers still ahead of the Browns in the AFC North Standings despite this outing? Well, that's due to two reasons.
One, the Browns still don't know how serious the Deshaun Watson injury is. If we knew he would be helathy in their next game, then sure, we would feel better about them. But until then, there's still a chance DTR plays and he needs to be much better in order for anyone to have faith in their offense with him running it.
Two, the Steelers are 1-0 in the AFC North. They're 1-2 outside of the division which is an issue but one of those losses was to San Francisco. Perhaps they lose a spot in the rankings if Baltimore knocks them off in Week 5 but as it stands now, they're better in the North than Cleveland.