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Steelers’ Potential Takeover of the AFC North Catches Rich Eisen’s Attention

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendan Howe | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 8:33 PM ET

Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying their bye week after a 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin on Sunday. The fact that each of their AFC North foes dropped their Week 4 contests makes the break all the more sweeter.

NFL Network’s Rich Eisen said on his radio show Monday that he believes the Steelers are in the driver’s seat of the division going forward.

"Every single time the Steelers win, you're like, 'Yeah, but. Yeah, but. Yeah, but,'" Eisen said . "Yeah, but they're 3-1 and they're two games clear of the Ravens. The Bengals have a backup quarterback damn near all the way through to the middle of December if they're lucky and the Browns are talking about Shedeur Sanders' body language in Ohio now.

"And the Steelers come off the bye and they get the Browns before visiting Cincinnati and then that massive one, where Green Bay now has a revenge game player against them (on) Sunday Night Football."

John Harbaugh’s Ravens will be without Lamar Jackson for 2-3 weeks due to the hamstring injury he suffered during a demoralizing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Baltimore’s defense has also had a tough go of it lately, ranking No. 31 in yards allowed thus far.

The Steelers , meanwhile, looked like a complete team in Ireland, even while missing starters Jaylen Warren, Joey Porter Jr. and Alex Highsmith. With the early chance to rest, Tomlin’s crew could get at least a few of those players back.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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