Steelers have a tough road ahead according to national media outlet
Most people who follow the NFL know that the AFC is the premier conference in the league. Look no further than the QBs and their respective teams such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, and so on. But when taking a more specific look at division by division, […]
Most people who follow the NFL know that the AFC is the premier conference in the league.
Look no further than the QBs and their respective teams such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, and so on.
But when taking a more specific look at division by division, it seems that PFF has some tough news for Pittsburgh.
The media recently did a ranking of the "toughest" divisions in football, and none other than the AFC North came out on top. Here's Gordon McGuinness's reasoning on why that's so:
The Cincinnati Bengals have been to the AFC championship game in each of the past two seasons, falling at the final hurdle against the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl to end the 2021 season. Quarterback Joe Burrow finished with the NFL's highest PFF passing grade in the regular season and playoffs last year (91.0). Lamar Jackson missed the final six games of the season for the Baltimore Ravens but ended the year with an 85.2 PFF grade, which ranked fifth at the position. With a revamped group of wide receivers featuring Odell Beckham Jr. and first-round draft pick Zay Flowers, they will expect to contend with the Bengals for the division crown.
So it's obvious that McGuinness has the Ravens and the Bengals atop the division, which, I think most reasonable Steelers fans would tend to agree with, but I'm not too sure if they will with what comes next:
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns earned the highest PFF pass-rushing grade in the NFL last season (93.5), but they will need quarterback Deshaun Watson to produce better than his 51.6 PFF passing grade, which ranked 34th of the 36 quarterbacks to record at least 200 dropbacks in 2022. Over the final eight weeks of the season, only three quarterbacks had a higher PFF passing grade than the 82.9 mark produced by Kenny Pickett of the Pittsburgh Steelers, something that will spark hope for a quick turnaround.
Maybe I'm reading in between the lines here, but it sure does seem that based on his positioning of the teams, McGuinness has the Steelers in fourth and last place in their division.
And sure, this will be one of, if not the most competitive divisions in the league in 2023. But a few things have to fall into place for Pittsburgh to be in last place, and they are things we have precedent on.
Lamar Jackson will have to not only stay healthy for the duration of the year this fall, but he will also have to perform at his 2019 NFL MVP level, as that defense may not be as stout as it once was.
Then in Cleveland, the Browns had better hope that the quarterback they paid $250 million guaranteed dollars to resembles any level of competence or that will go down as the worst signing in NFL history, bar none.
So call it optimism, call it homerism, but I need to see more out of these respective clubs within the AFC North before I even consider a last-place finish for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023.
