The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a weird start to the season. Despite coming in with the expectation of a ground-and-pound offense and a stifling defense, the team has been quite the opposite.
Aaron Rodgers singlehandedly won the Week 1 game against the New York Jets, while he would have needed a similar performance to have beaten the Seattle Seahawks this week. The feel-good vibes from last week are now a distant memory.
However, the Cincinnati Bengals may have just given the Steelers a surprising gift.
Star quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a major toe injury and will miss the majority of the regular season. He isn’t a lock to be shut down for the entirety of 2025, but he will not be playing for the foreseeable future.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can still contend for a top spot in the AFC North
The Bengals were playing some good football early this year, a stark contrast to how they usually start seasons. While they still had their defensive issues and offensive line blunders, they were doing enough to win.
Without Burrow at the helm, things look bleak for the Bengals. Elite quarterback play was vital to their team's success. While opposing offenses could also put up points, Burrow could outduel anyone with his talented cast around him.
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Jake Browning certainly doesn’t carry the same weight as a quarterback. While he could pitch in and win you a game or two in a pinch, he isn’t going to keep up with the other top offenses in the league.
While time will tell if Cincinnati makes a trade at quarterback (Jameis Winston is already being rumored to be on the move there), that still isn’t anything more than a placeholder.
For the Steelers, that leaves one less notable AFC North team to have to tangle with. The Cleveland Browns have looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL so far. Meanwhile, the expectation is that the North will run through the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals were a favorite to land the second spot before the Burrow injury. They still have talent to hang around, but unless they shine with whomever ends up being their quarterback, the Steelers have a clear path to the second spot in the North.
That doesn’t lock the Steelers into a playoff spot, but it gets them one step closer. It also softens up a tough AFC North gauntlet. Burrow getting injured is a huge boost to a struggling Steelers team, and it could be enough to give them an additional edge.