The AFC North has spent the first half of 2026 flipping itself upside down, but the Steelers are the team standing on top as Week 9 arrives. Pittsburgh heads into its bye at 6-2, and nobody in the division can knock it out of first place this week.
That position feels earned after the Steelers’ 21-point hammering of the Browns in Week 8. Mike McCarthy’s group used that win to push the rest of the division into chase mode, and for now, the gap is real. Pittsburgh has won four straight, and the way it’s winning gives it a chance to stay there for a while.
The formula is pretty clear. The Steelers are running the ball at a high level and shutting down opposing rushing attacks, which gives them a path in just about every game left on the schedule.
Jaylen Warren has also taken a major step forward and looks like an All-Pro running back. Even with the bye week here, there’s no sense that Pittsburgh is fading anytime soon.
The Bengals remain the closest threat at 5-2, but their Week 8 escape against Tennessee did not exactly inspire confidence. Cincinnati needed every bit of Joe Burrow’s 462-yard, six-total-touchdown explosion to survive a 43-36 overtime win over the now-1-7 Titans. Burrow also threw three interceptions, and the defense made life far too easy for Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward, who finished with 304 passing yards and two touchdowns while the Bengals gave up 158 rushing yards at 5.6 yards per carry.
That’s the Bengals in a nutshell right now: explosive enough to win almost any shootout, shaky enough to make every week uncomfortable. Their offense is carrying them, but the defense is still a problem, and it nearly cost them against one of the league’s weakest teams. Even so, Cincinnati stays in the No. 2 spot at the midway point.
Cleveland drops to third after getting pushed around by Pittsburgh. The Browns are 5-3, but the record comes with some warning signs.
Three of their five wins have come on last-season field goals, and they couldn’t find that kind of luck in Week 8. Pittsburgh controlled the game in a 27-6 win, and Cleveland had trouble both running the football and stopping the run.
The numbers back up the concern. The Browns are last in the division in point differential at minus-34, rank 25th in offense EPA per play, and sit 14th in defense EPA per play, according to RBSDM Stats. They’re still in the mix, but they’re starting to look more like a team that has been hanging around than one that’s built to hold up.
Baltimore is bringing up the rear, and the situation has turned ugly fast. The Ravens are 4-5 after a 33-10 loss to Jacksonville, and they’ve now dropped four straight.
Over the last two weeks, they’ve been outscored 69-20. The quarterback situation has only made things worse: Lamar Jackson is out indefinitely with a thumb injury, Tyler Huntley is on season-ending IR with turf toe, and Baltimore responded by trading for Cardinals veteran Jacoby Brissett.
That’s a desperate move for a team already dealing with a below-average defense and a brutal stretch of results. Right now, the Ravens look like the least threatening team in the AFC North, and halfway through the season, nobody would have predicted that.
In Other News...
Steelers Trade Chatter Now Involves A Veteran Defender
The Steelers inside linebacker group has been one of the steadier parts of the roster this season, but the trade market may still bring a surprise before the NFLs Nov. 10 deadline. According to Sports Illustrateds Albert Breer, Pittsburgh is at least considering moving a veteran defender who has had only a limited role this year after joining the team in 2023.
The name in the chatter is Cole Holcomb, whose Steelers tenure has already been shaped by a lost 2024 season because of a knee injury. Even with the position playing well, the possibility of shifting a veteran with experience in the room suggests Pittsburgh is still weighing how to balance depth, health and future roster flexibility as deadline season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Get A Huge AFC North Test After Steelers Bye Week
The Steelers head into their bye week with a little momentum after a 27-6 win over the Browns on Nov. 1, a game that showcased both sides of the ball in a way Mike Tomlins team will want to carry forward. Jaylen Warren powered the offense with 143 rushing yards and a touchdown, while the defense piled up eight sacks and forced two turnovers in one of Pittsburghs most complete outings of the season.
When the Steelers return, the schedule tightens quickly with an AFC North trip that always comes with extra weight. Pittsburgh will be back in prime time on Nov. 15 at Paycor Stadium, where the matchup with Cincinnati arrives as an early measuring stick for a team trying to keep its footing in a division that rarely gives anyone much breathing room. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Trade Buzz Puts Two Roster Needs Front And Center
The Steelers are already being linked to the kind of trade chatter that tends to follow a team with clear roster questions and enough season left for the front office to keep its options open. Ahead of the 2027 NFL trade deadline, Pittsburgh has been mentioned in speculative talks around wide receivers and defensive backs, a sign that the club is at least surveying ways to strengthen both sides of the ball if the right deal surfaces.
Among the names floating around are Josh Downs, Hollywood Brown, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston at receiver, along with Riq Woolen, Donte Jackson, Cam Hart and Amani Hooker in the secondary. Nothing has been confirmed, and for now it is all about possibility rather than movement, but the variety of targets suggests the Steelers are keeping a close eye on more than one path as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]