2020 NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys defense has hopes high

Pittsburgh Steelers move up from 22 to 21

Somehow, the Pittsburgh Steelers went 8-8 last season which is a huge testament to Mike Tomlin. He had to deal with a couple of years that were full of drama as they had the Le’Veon Bell holdout followed directly by Antonio Brown openly challenging Ben Roethlisberger —  and he even made some rough accusations against the star quarterback.

Once Bell and Brown we’re both gone, it was back to football. Unfortunately, the team found themselves with more to overcome as Big Ben was injured after two games and lost for the season.

They then found themselves immersed in a controversy when Mason Rudolph got into a fight with Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns. That ended with Rudolph being decked over the head with his own helmet. And while Garrett was the one slapped with the long suspension, it was still distraction and major talking point for the Steelers.

This year, Pittsburgh is hoping to hit the reset after a (finally) quiet offseason. They’re also expecting Roethlisberger to be back to 100 percent after elbow surgery. Should that be the case, they have enough talent to contend in the AFC North — provided Roethlisberger is healthy.

Right now, that’s still a question. He hasn’t played in nearly a year and when he did play last, the team struggled to win. That goes back to a rough patch to end the 2018 season even. Until they can prove Big Ben is who he used to be, there are going to be questions.