The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to hold on to beat the Green Bay Packers during their Week 10 matchup at Acrisure Stadium. This helps the team improve to 6-3 and hold on to a second-place tie with the Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Most analysts believe the AFC North is the strongest division in the NFL this year and while the Steelers have not been executing pretty wins, they are still finding ways to get it done. This has one former AFC rival running back, Maurice Jones-Drew, claiming that they will win the division.
Jones-Drew played in the NFL for nine seasons, mostly with the Jacksonville Jaguars and then for a year with the then-Oakland Raiders. He is now an analyst for NFL Network and was asked Monday on NFL Game Day who he thinks will win the AFC North, considering that the division is so stacked with talented teams.
"I'm here to tell the world, and the people, the Pittsburgh Steelers are gonna win this division, and this is why. In this division, you have to have a physical running game. You have to have a defense that gets turnovers. When you look at everyone else, Baltimore was struggling a little bit to run against the Browns. Cleveland has a physical running game. But guess what? The Pittsburgh Steelers have beaten both of those teams."
The Steelers played the Browns in Week 2 in a game won almost entirely by their defense. They won 26-22 with both Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt scoring touchdowns.
In the Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers managed to pull out a win 17-10. The Ravens game was full of costly mistakes that Pittsburgh was able to capitalize upon. Quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a late touchdown to wide receiver George Pickens that gave them the victory.
The Steelers have not played the Cincinnati Bengals yet. Their first game will come just after Thanksgiving during Week 12. Jones-Drew said he doesn't think they have anything significant to worry about with those games. According to him, their remaining schedule works in the Steelers' favor, especially because of their propensity to win games late in the fourth quarter.
"Pittsburgh wins these one-score games - all the time. We talk about how they are out-gained all year and it just doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, they find a way to win in the fourth quarter. And those are the teams you don't want to play late in the year."
Not only does Pittsburgh find a way to win late or come from behind to win, but Jones-Drew thinks they have someone else working in their favor, and it's not a player. That person is Head Coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach since 2007 and has never had a losing season.
"Mike Tomlin has done a great job, they're running the football really well. He's shown great leadership by bringing Matt Canada down to the sidelines."
Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada came down to the sideline for the first time during the Thursday night game against the Tennessee Titans. Before this, he had always sat in the booth. While he claims there are plusses and minuses to both locations, the Steelers have looked better on offense with him on the sideline. Jones-Drew's co-host claims, while smirking, that was more of desperation and the former running back strongly disagrees.
"No that's leadership! I need you down here to talk to these guys. Ever since then, they've been scoring points on offense. Hear me now, believe me later, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to win the AFC North," exclaimed Jones-Drew.
Regardless of whether it is the sole reason why the offense looked better or not, it was really nice to see Canada down on the sideline hugging and congratulating players. He could also be seen coaching them up if a drive did not go well.
Steelers Have A Lot Of Stiff Competition In The AFC North
The Browns, who had been down most of the game, even by 15 points at one time, rallied to win 33-31. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, had his biggest win in Cleveland. He helped lead a run game that the Ravens struggled to stop. In addition, the Browns defense made huge stops during the second half that gave their offense the time they needed.
Baltimore already looked like the team to beat, and while they should never be counted out, the Browns showed just how good they can be. With Cleveland already boasting the best defense in the NFL, they are finally looking like their offense is catching up.
The Ravens have the Bengals next up and it will be a real test for both teams. The Ravens need to show that loss was a fluke and the Bengals need to show that they haven't lost the steam they picked up after a 1-3 start. The Bengals, who are now 5-4, lost to the Houston Texans during Week 10. They are desperate to claw their way back into the hunt.
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