Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 7 at 4-1, leading the AFC North. NFL odds from FanDuel Sportsbook list them as -155 favorites to win the North and secure a home playoff game.
I’m shocked. Undervaluing the Steelers has plagued me as an NFL bettor. In 2024, I saw a seven-win team, but they won 10.
I didn’t have much hope for the 2025 season, either. Yet, these Steelers are 4-1, and the supposed elite teams of the AFC have, so far, played mid at best.
Are the 2025 Steelers fool’s gold? Or are they the real McCoy?
**Aaron Rodgers** has improved the Steelers’ offense, but not as much as one would’ve hoped. Hardly a juggernaut, the Steelers average 23.8 points per game, up from last season’s 21.9.
The Steelers are also scoring more early in games, averaging 13.6 first-half points so far in 2025, a significant improvement from the 9.4 they averaged in 2024. These first-half points put the Steelers in far more favorable positions later in the game.
Yet, there will come a time this season when the Steelers will find themselves in a hole at halftime. I’m not sure they have the offense, even with a future Hall of Fame QB under center, to dig out.
Rodgers relies on his experience and guile, and if you watched the clown car of Steelers QBs after Big Ben, you know those attributes positively impact an NFL offense.
What Rodgers isn’t doing, and likely can’t do anymore, is push the ball downfield. Rodgers has only 733 air yards through five games, ranking him near the bottom of the NFL.
The lack of air yards is problematic, and the Steelers’ passing deficiencies will surface when they play competent offensive teams.
Yes, the Steelers’ defense looked shaky in the early going. The unit surrendered over 30 points in the first two weeks of the season, and a defense as expensive and powerful as a Ford Mustang looked like a Pinto.
The defense is now humming. The unit averages four sacks per game, and sacked Cleveland QB Dillion Gabriel six times last week. The defense has also popped 10 turnovers, and the defensive line is holding opposing rushers to 84.7 yards during the previous three games.
If the defense can continue this level of play, the Steelers can not only win the AFC North but also win their first playoff game in nearly a decade.
The Baltimore Ravens are a banged-up 1-5 heading into their bye week. Even if the Dirty Birds coalesce into the team we all thought they’d be, they’re in a deep hole.
Buffalo, which looked like a world-beater through the opening weeks of the season, also has injury woes and a defense leaking oil. They’ve also lost two in a row.
Then there’s Kansas City. Rashee Rice is back, and an impressive win over the Detroit Lions raised their stock.
The AFC is...
