Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Can't Label Pittsburgh Contenders Quite Yet

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been on a roll lately as they won their last three games before going on their bye in Week 9. The bye week could not have come at a more perfect time, as Pittsburgh has one of the most difficult schedules in the second half of the regular season. The Steelers currently sit at 6-2 and lead the AFC North, while holding the three-seed in the AFC. They face a true test as they travel to take on rookie-phenom Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in Week 10.

The Steelers have certainly surpassed expectations so far in the 2024 season. Justin Fields got the job done as he started the first six games of the regular season, and Russell Wilson has won his first two starts with Pittsburgh. The offense looks the best it has in years, but Pittsburgh is still behind the top class of the AFC. 

Obviously the Kansas City Chiefs are in a class of their own as they are currently undefeated and have won the last two Super Bowls. Below them are the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. Then things get a bit murky with the Steelers, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, and even the Cincinnati Bengals. Former Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spoke about where the Steelers stand in the AFC on the most recent episode of his podcast, Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.

"Yeah, they're right in that mix; I just can't put the Steelers in the same category as Baltimore or the Bills yet," Roethlisberger said. "They need to go out in this next stretch of games where they have Washington coming in, and then I think it's Baltimore. But they have a stretch, where if they go out and show they can beat these teams, these true contenders, I think Washington is a contender. I think Jayden Daniels is playing really good. If they can go show that they belong, then I'll move them up on my list."

Pittsburgh has a chip on their shoulder as they have not been able to win a playoff game since the 2016 season, and they consistently fall to the best of the AFC. In 2023, they lost to the Bills in the first round, and they lost to the Chiefs in the first round at the end of the 2021 season. Pittsburgh has been able to handle Baltimore in recent years, but not in a playoff environment. 

Roethlisberger went on to say that he has the Steelers sitting at fourth or fifth in the AFC when it comes to teams that can compete for a Super Bowl. This is probably about right, even though most fans would like to hear the former quarterback list them higher. If anything, Pittsburgh should be lower, unless they can prove they can beat some of these tough teams in the second half of the season.

Steelers Need To Prove They Can Compete With The Top Of The AFC

In order to achieve the goal of winning Super Bowl LIX, Pittsburgh will need to be able to beat teams like Kansas City and Buffalo. The path to the Lombardi Trophy will likely run through one of those teams, or Baltimore. The Steelers will be able to see what they are made of during the rest of the season as they will be playing all six of their division games, as well as tough contests against the Commanders, Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles. 

Pittsburgh currently has six wins. Realistically to avoid the bottom seed in the AFC, they will need to win five or six of their remaining contests. This will be up to Wilson and the offense to continue to improve against better competition, which is something Roethlisberger mentioned. He cautioned fans to stay a bit guarded since the sample size of Wilson leading the offense is so small, and both his games have been against poor competition.