16. Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers play Monday vs. Dolphins
I can’t be the only one who just isn’t buying the Steelers at this point, even after a win against the Baltimore Ravens. That win doesn’t carry the same amount of oomph as it would have a year ago at this time.
With TJ Watt out for their Monday night matchup against the Miami Dolphins, I’m skeptical the Steelers are even going to be able to defend their home field, but they might be at their best when they’re getting counted out.
Against the Ravens, we saw Aaron Rodgers play one of the best games he’s played in a few years, quite frankly. And maybe that’s the hope for this team going forward. I hate to be negative with these NFL Power Rankings, especially because the Steelers have obviously done a lot right this season. They’re in control of their own destiny – for the time being – when it comes to winning that division.
They’ll get a massive test on Monday night with the Dolphins bringing their stellar running game and suddenly stingy defense to town.
15. Carolina Panthers
Panthers, I’m not mad…I’m just disappointed.
The Carolina Panthers have been an up-and-down team all season long, so I should not have expected that they were just going to come out and wallop the Saints in a must-win game. But after the Bucs lost on Thursday night, the Panthers had everything sitting right there for the taking.
Yet, here we are. They are 7-7 after a tough loss to the Saints on the road, and now they have to go back to the drawing board once again this week. I guess the good news for the Panthers is the obvious: The Buccaneers also lost. At least the NFC South is staying on-brand and everybody is keeping pace through the end of the season.
But if someone could win this division with an actual winning record, that would be great. The Panthers got Shough’d on Sunday, and apparently, there’s nothing you can really do about that these days.