Saturday, December 4, 2021

Pittsburgh Steelers Week 13 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the Pittsburgh Steelers rank in terms of average, best and worst:

  • Average ranking: 19.2 (19th)
  • Best ranking: 17 (CBS Sports)
  • Worst ranking: 21 (NFL.com)

Below you will find a Week 13 roundup for the Steelers in our consensus 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 19

The Steelers' flaws dominated the Week 12 blowout loss to Cincinnati. They can't run the ball, and they can't stop the run. The Steelers weren't stopping the run well in Week 6, but they still found a way to beat the Seahawks, thanks to a big game from running back Najee Harris. Since holding the Browns to 96 rushing yards in Week 8, the Steelers have given up an average of 180 yards per game to their next four opponents. The Steelers' own run game is disappearing too. They have the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the league and the third-worst yards per carry average. With six tough games left -- including two against the division-leading Ravens -- there's not much confidence they can turn it around. -- Brooke Pryor

NFL.com -- Rank: 21

After years -- decades, really -- of battling it out with the Ravens while beating up on bumbling also-rans in Cleveland and Cincinnati, the tables have turned. There are no more gimmes for Pittsburgh. The Bengals reminded them of that in the rudest way imaginable on Sunday, building a 31-3 halftime lead before coasting to a 41-10 win to complete a punishing season sweep. The Steelers are plainly, painfully ordinary: They have a defense that is typically good but rarely great, and a middling offense led by a veteran quarterback who looks ready for the exit door. A playoff push is still within reason, given the wide-open nature of this NFL season, but the true reality here is impossible to ignore.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 17

That was an embarrassment against the Bengals. The offense was awful and they are in big trouble in the playoff race.

USA Today -- Rank: 20

They've given up 41 points each of the past two weeks and just put OLB T.J. Watt into COVID-19 protocol. Mike Tomlin will have to pull out all the stops to avoid his first losing season.

The Athletic -- Rank: 19

Problem area: Quarterback. The Steelers' problems are extensive right now, so Ben Roethlisberger is hardly the only issue. And while he's still the best quarterback option on the Steelers' roster -- we saw as much when they tied the Lions without him in Week 10 -- he's hardly been good. And in Week 12, he was very bad: two interceptions (including an ugly pick six) and three sacks, while completing just 58.5 percent of his throws. Roethlisberger has failed to average more than 7 yards per passing attempt in seven of his 10 starts. So now, as the Steelers try to cling to relevance in the AFC, they also need to be reckoning with the end of the Roethlisberger era, something they probably should have considered more thoroughly after last season.

Previous updates:

More Pittsburgh Steelers pages:

More of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) like us on Facebook and/or (3) subscribe to our newsletter.