Steelers’ long stretch of winning in the AFC North is taken for granted
The Pittsburgh Steelers are among the most storied franchises in the NFL, boasting six Super Bowl championships and a legacy of resiliency. Their success comes deeply intertwined with their rivalries within the AFC North, especially with the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns. However, fans may not be privy to how intense those rivalries are compared to other divisions around the league.
Not having a losing season since 2003 is nothing short of a miracle in the AFC North. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is one of the most intense since both teams typically fight for divisional supremacy. The Steelers are 36-27 all-time against the Ravens, including the postseason. They are 71-40 all-time against the Cincinnati Bengals and 82-64-1 all-time against the Cleveland Browns.
These divisional games are huge in determining the outcome of the Steelers’ season, from playoff seeding to home-field advantage. Yet, unlike other divisions in the league, the Steelers don’t enjoy easy competition like some other teams.
Baltimore Ravens
Steelers fans can sympathize with their most recent playoff loss at the hands of their division rival. In what was an embarrassing loss, it’s easy to see that the Ravens were a better product on the field this season – winning the AFC North and taking a Wild Card victory both to the detriment of the Steelers.
The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is widely recognized as one of the most vicious in football. A series of hard-hitting games always seem to determine the fate of the AFC North, usually with close scoring games. While this year’s series took a turn for the worst, with some of the more lopsided losses in their head-to-head history.
Many Steelers fans are upset at the loss, along with Mike Tomlin’s six-game losing streak in the postseason. For fans keenly watching these giants fight it out, another layer could be added: using the DraftKings promo code to your advantage. This rivalry will continue to grow, and fans can participate in it differently.
Yet, one has to wonder what the Steelers may have been able to accomplish if the Ravens weren’t always standing in their way. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is a two-time league MVP since entering the NFL in 2018 and is arguably up for a third award this season too. Since 2018, the Ravens have won the AFC North four out of the last seven seasons. Since joining the same division as the Steelers, they’ve won the Super Bowl twice: with their last victory coming in 2012.
Having a Super Bowl contending competitor within the AFC North makes winning the division a dogfight year-in and year-out. However, Baltimore isn’t the only team to have major success recently coming out of the North.
Cincinnati Bengals
Many fans wouldn’t consider the Bengals a major thorn in the Steelers side, however, Cincinnati’s mix of success over the years – combined with that of Baltimore’s – makes for two tough opponents that could vie for a playoff spot any season and bump the Steelers from contention.
The Bengals have had a mixed bag of success as of late, but have had at least nine wins in their last four seasons. The first of those four winning seasons came in Joe Burrow’s first full season played. Burrow led the team to Super Bowl LVI. The Bengals returned to the AFC Championship the following season and were primed to be the next big thing in the NFL before another injury to Burrow and some other changes slowed the team’s progress.
However, even before Burrow’s arrival, the Bengals weren’t always a pushover. Former head coach Marvin Lewis led the Bengals to the playoffs seven times, including five-straight appearances between 2011 and 2015. Cincinnati won the AFC North four times during Lewis’ tenure and have now won it twice under the six years Zac Taylor has been the head coach.
Cleveland Browns
A longtime laughing stock in the NFL, the Browns cannot be counted for an automatic win anymore. Their fortunes began to change when Kevin Stefanski took over as head coach in 2020. Since, Stefanski has won two AP NFL Coach of the Year awards and has taken the Browns to the playoffs twice in five seasons. His 2020 team broke an 18-year playoff drought, showcasing how difficult it is to win within the Steelers same division.
Incidentally, the toughness of the AFC North is on display in the postseason as well, with Cleveland gaining their first playoff win since 1994 with a victory over the Steelers in 2020.
Comparing to others
Some of the catcalling for Mike Tomlin’s job or the understanding as to why the Steelers don’t steamroll into the playoffs like some other teams can be illustrated by looking at other divisions around the league.
For example, the New England Patriots dynasty was largely propped up by playing in an abysmal AFC East which featured decades-long bad football from teams within that division. While the Patriots were winning double-digit games throughout the 2000’s and 2010’s, the Buffalo Bills went from 1999 to 2017 without a playoff appearance.
The Miami Dolphins had two winning seasons between 2004-2019 and the New York Jets had one small spell where they went to back-to-back AFC Championships, largely in the absence of Tom Brady with the Patriots. Otherwise, the Jets haven’t been back to the postseason since losing in the title game to the Steelers during the 2010 season and were marred with multiple third and fourth place division finishes between playoff appearances from 1999-2008.
The Kansas City Chiefs have enjoyed a similar slate of weak opponents within their division during their seven-straight AFC Championship games. While the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos have gotten over the hump this year, they have traded being basement dwellers in the AFC West with the Las Vegas Raiders for years.
Since Andy Reid took over as head coach of the Chiefs in 2013, the Chargers have only made the postseason three times. The Broncos made two trips to the Super Bowl, in 2013 and 2015, but finally made the playoffs for the first time since Peyton Manning’s retirement following their 2015 Super Bowl win. The Raiders mediocrity rivals that of the Browns and Jets, making the playoffs twice since 2002: they have not won their division since then either.
Similar comparisons could be made with other divisions, particularly the NFC North which has featured historically bad Lions and Bears teams as well as the NFC South, which has featured a division winner with a losing record (and multiple seasons where three of the four teams failed to reach .500.)
Final thoughts
When you look around the league it’s easy to see that the Steelers could easily be a much worse franchise than they are. They have not had the cake walk that the Patriots or Chiefs have had into postseason byes and often get into slugfests with the Ravens or Bengals for the top spot, which sees all of the involved fall into Wild Card territory and a tougher path to the postseason, and ultimately through it.
Seeing as the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003, and having a winning season is paramount to getting into the playoffs (where any team can win it all, i.e. the 2005 Steelers) I believe most of Pittsburgh’s fans need to look through the lens of competitive football to realize this is a team that finds a way to always win despite the odds against them. Pittsburgh could easily be in the doldrums of the Raiders and Jets, yet they never are.
Imagine some role reversal: what if the Steelers didn’t make the playoffs for a decade or longer? Or, imagine if they swapped spots in the 2000’s with the Patriots in the AFC East. It’s easier to see a path to larger success, if that were the case. However, the AFC North makes it less likely that any of these teams will have an easy path to the Lombardi Trophy. Therefore, the Steelers need to gear up for 2025 with beating the Ravens, Bengals, and Browns on their short list, before eyeing a larger prize.
