You didn't believe in Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, the aging defense or the Pittsburgh Steelers when the season started in September. McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with Rodgers in Green Bay, was fired by the Dallas Cowboys after five seasons in 2024. He came to the Steelers with many questioning why it was him, even if he was a Pittsburgh guy.
Rodgers was back for one more year in large part because McCarthy was the coach, but at 41, how effective would he be? The Steelers are 6-2 and in first place in the AFC North. They dominated the Cleveland Browns Sunday in a 27-6 victory that saw the Steelers do what the Steelers do when they are good.
They ran it on offense, and they sacked the quarterback on defense. Pittsburgh ran for 200 yards and sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson eight times. Seven different players, led by T.J.
Watt with two sacks, contributed to the sack total. Rodgers didn't have to do much, throwing for 172 yards, no touchdowns and one pick. But that's just the way the Steelers would like it to be with a successful running game.
The Steelers are fourth in the NFL in scoring defense at 18.0 points per game and lead the league in sacks with 26. They are 14th in rushing offense, but have averaged 145.7 yards the past three. They are up to No. 10 in my Power Rankings as they head to their bye week.
After that, it's a big division game at Cincinnati on Sunday night against the Bengals. As for the bottom of my rankings, the Los Angeles Chargers stay there after their lifeless showing in the loss to the Rams Sunday. They are the league's No. 1 disaster right now and jobs could be lost because of this season.
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