18. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
I am not sure this is a win that the Pittsburgh Steelers should feel good about. Yes, winning in the NFL is tough, and not a single team will ever apologize for it, but this was as ugly a win as you will see in this league.
The Steelers had just three points entering the fourth quarter and ended up scoring 23 of their 26 points in the final quarter and in overtime. Aaron Rodgers was mostly bad in this game, but he did get to pad his passing stats a bit with 253 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers got 50 yards on the ground from Jaylen Warren, and DK Metcalf added 11 receptions for 93 yards.
This is not a good football team, folks. The Steelers were playing a bad team, starting an undrafted rookie and barely scraping by, and the clock management late in the game from head coach Mike McCarthy was also rather pathetic.
Even if the Steelers made the playoffs this year, they’d be one-and-done no matter if they won the AFC North or fell backward into a Wild Card spot.
17. Carolina Panthers (3-2)
It would have been quite troubling if the Carolina Panthers weren’t able to win this one. The Panthers were up by six points heading into the fourth quarter, so it was close, but the Panthers were able to close out the game after their Week 5 bye.
Bryce Young did not do anything special through the air - he went 20/39 for 281 yards and two touchdowns, but the better team won this one. And with another week now in the books for the NFC South, the division is as clear as mud.
New Orleans got back on track, Atlanta could still be something frisky, and Tampa Bay is showing a lot of fight without QB Baker Mayfield. Carolina should still be able to come away as the division winners, but I am not sure it’s a slam-dunk bet.
And the Panthers having an early bye week is less than ideal, at least in my view. Carolina will now have to play the rest of their regular season games without much of an extended break. However, they’re 3-2 on the season and the only winning team in the NFC South up to this point.
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