Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers Power Rankings: Week 7

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

After an abysmal performance against the Dolphins and an injury that could mean a lot to the season with Roethlisberger going down, the Steelers are a team filled with unanswered questions. How will this affect their ranking?

Next: NFL.com

Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) runs with the ball against Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Maxwell (41) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

NFL.com: No. 10

Last Week: No. 6

“Spoke on NFL Network repeatedly last week about tempering expectations for the Steelers this past weekend. Pittsburgh fans can easily talk about their team’s penchant for coming up flat in games that people think they should win 46-6. That said, who would have foreseen the Steelerssucking as bad as they did against the Dolphins on Sunday? Or Jay Ajayi rushing for over two bills? How about Miami posting 474 yards to Pittsburgh’s 297? Unbelievable. Miami’s offense?” -Elliot Harrison

Well well well.

Looks like Elliot Harrison was right not to hop on the Steelers bandwagon just yet. It seems whenever the Steelers have everything going their way, they suddenly have a game like this. This is a team known for losing to teams they shouldn’t.

You could attribute the loss to the injuries that plagued the team before and throughout the game, as well as the supposed heat that the players weren’t prepared for, but really, it just wasn’t a good showing by Pittsburgh on either side of the ball.

The supposedly revamped defense got absolutely pummelled by a Dolphins offense led by Ryan Tannehill and Jay Ajayi. Yes, Landry Jones is good, but who else? They got no pressure on Tannehill against possibly the worst offensive line in football.

Now with Landry Jones hopping in, things are concerning than they seemed a week ago.

Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is tripped by by Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (97) during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN: No. 7

Last Week: No. 3

“Since Ben Roethlisberger became the team’s starting quarterback in 2004, the Steelers are 12-9 in games not started by him, good for a .571 win percentage. It’s not the .658 win percentage that Pittsburgh has with him starting, but it’s good enough to keep the Steelers afloat if he’s out for an extended period.”

Both ESPN and NFL.com both dropped the Steelers down a total of four spots, but ESPN had them ranked higher a week ago. Unlike Elliot Harrison’s explanation which explained why the Steelers were so low, ESPN actually sort of explains why they’re not lower.

Ben Roethlisberger is out, but that doesn’t mean the Steelers are without hope. As explained, the Steelers actually have a winning percentage without Roethlisberger. Of course, this week might be tough against Tom Brady and a fierce Patriot bunch, but this injury might not be as detrimental as it has been made out to be.

Roethlisberger has had successful surgery already, and some have even claimed that he could be back as early as after the bye week (following the Patriots game). With him, faces like Cam Heyward, Ladarius Green (forgot about him, huh?), Bud Dupree, Ryan Shazier/Vince Williams, and all the injured players could start to make their way back.

If we’re lacking our stars for just a game, it’s not nearly as big a deal as it seems. If it starts to expand longer than that, it might have to be concerning.

One thing is good, though. You can’t play down to a team when Landry Jones is your starting quarterback.

Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Damien Williams (26) runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Fox Sports: No. 6

Last Week: No. 2

“Sure, they looked horrendous against the Dolphins and Ben Roethlisberger got hurt. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start saying the Steelers’ season is over. They still have a high-powered offense with Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, and it’s no guarantee that Big Ben will miss time. They’ve gone through this storyline before and overcome injuries to make the playoffs.” -Cameron DaSilva

Okay. I think we’re getting the mathematical formula these analysts are using. Just take your ranking from last week, and drop the Steelers down four. Seems right.

DaSilva again pointed out why it’s not the time to count this team out. The Steelers are still ahead in the AFC North. It’s unfortunate they lost, but they also didn’t really lose any ground, with all other AFC North teams losing as well.

The Steelers are still a strong team and have been through this story line before. Remember that time Ben Roethlisberger missed those games and the Steelers had to rely on Michael Vick and Landry Jones to carry them through a couple games? Remember when Le’Veon Bell got hurt, then DeAngelo Williams got hurt, oh, and then Antonio Brown got hurt and the Steelers just had to push on? Yeah. That was last year, and the Steelers were maybe the closest team to ousting the eventual Super Bowl champs.

Next Man Up. As Steelers fans, we’ve heard it a thousand times. We’ve been down this path before. Yes, it’s unfortunate that injuries plague the team, but that’s football, and the Steelers always figure something out.

Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Yahoo Sports: No. 8

Last Week: No. 6

“Too bad Ben Roethlisberger is out for the Patriots game because that had some game of the year potential. His injury is the most pressing concern for Pittsburgh (and the uncertain timetable makes them impossible to rank). Second on the list is why they don’t show up a time or two each season. It’s not just the Dolphins game. Check the Eagles’ results this season, consider the level of competition in each game, and you’ll see that game is the extreme outlier for Philadelphia.” -Frank Schwab

Uncertainty is the real problem in Pittsburgh. I didn’t quite understand how Schwab didn’t bother to rank up the Steelers at all last week, but maybe it was simply because he wasn’t sold quite yet.

Might be hard to sell it to him now. The Steelers are having an interesting season so far. They’ve defeated four teams that were pretty strong in 2015, but have fallen flat against teams that were considered pretty easy games.

Ben Roethlisberger’s injury is definitely the most pressing concern, no doubt. Landry Jones is nowhere near his talent level and might be the biggest starter to back up dropoff the league has to offer. The Steelers have failed to spend any time trying to find an upgrade at the backup

quarterback position, and at this point, it doesn’t make sense anymore.

Pittsburgh has to start winning the games they should win. It’s one of the most confusing things in football today, and it just has to stop.

Oct 16, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones (3) attempts a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Author’s Opinion: No. 6

Last Week: No. 3

Honestly, I did think about dropping the Steelers down further. The game they played against the Dolphins was embarrassing and rather pitiful compared to what was expected.

The game was expected to be a blowout. The Steelers were supposed to come in, and Roethlisberger was supposed to torch a secondary that wasn’t prepared for the firepower the Steelers had to offer.

Le’Veon Bell was supposed to run wild on them considering they boasted the worst run defense in the entire league. The game just didn’t add up. It seemed that this time might be different. The Steelers weren’t going to lose because they simply had all the weapons the Dolphins lacked, but they lost.

The only reason I didn’t drop them down further was because all the other teams below them also lost. The Broncos lost. The Falcons lost. The Raiders lost. The Packers lost. Didn’t seem right to put them all above the Steelers.