The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't need to lift a finger in Week 5 to improve their comfortable division lead in the AFC North. As Mike Tomlin's team got a much-needed early bye to recover from numerous nagging injuries, Pittsburgh's biggest rivals fell flat.
The Ravens were without Lamar Jackson in Week 5 and ultimately suffered a humiliating 44-10 blowout loss to the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, the Browns fell to the Vikings in London, and the Bengals got trounced by the Lions.
Interestingly, it wasn't just their biggest AFC North rivals who choked this week.
The Buffalo Bills fell to the New England Patriots in a 23-20 contest on Sunday Night Football, while the Kansas City Chiefs continued to fall in the early playoff picture—dropping to 2-3 after an entertaining game against the Jaguars on Monday Night Football. The LA Chargers also squandered an opportunity at home against the Commanders.
Suddenly, the Steelers are sitting in pole position in the updated AFC standings that nobody saw coming.
The Pittsburgh Steelers rank third in the AFC standings entering Week 6
We would have thought an early bye week would have put the Pittsburgh Steelers behind the pack in the AFC playoff race. However, with a record of 3-1, Mike Tomlin's team ranks third in the AFC standings entering Week 6. This is as good as anyone could have hoped for at this point in the season.
While there are three 4-1 teams in the AFC, two of them are from the AFC South. So, if the season ended today, the Jaguars would be a Wild Card team. Only the Colts and Bills are higher than the Steelers in the current AFC standings, but each of these teams has just one loss to its name so far this season.
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Despite their less-than-convincing performance at times, the Steelers have a better record than teams like the Chargers (3-2), Broncos (3-2), and Chiefs (2-3). Remarkably, the Cincinnati Bengals—who have the worst turnover differential in the NFL (-71)—would be a playoff team in the AFC if the season ended today.
If the season were to end right now, the Steelers would have a home game in the Wild Card round against the New England Patriots—a team they defeated in Week 3.
As for the Steelers' AFC North Rivals, the Bengals currently rank 8th in the conference, the Ravens are 12th, and the Browns are 14th. The Pittsburgh Steelers already have a two-and-a-half game lead over Baltimore, presumably their biggest rival for the division crown, and things could get even better after Week 6.