Ravens Rivals: Takeaways from around the AFC North after week two

Pittsburgh Steelers: Lackluster wins against bad teams

The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to a 2-0 start, albeit they have played against a bad New York Giants team and a banged-up Denver Broncos squad without their starting quarterback, Drew Lock, for most of the game. Luckily for Pittsburgh, they have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL and they showed that yesterday, racking up seven team sacks and getting an interception by veteran cornerback Joe Haden in their 26-21 win over Denver.

Don’t get me wrong, right now Pittsburgh is the team that probably gives Baltimore the best run for their money in the AFC North. Ben Roethlisberger is back and was able to make the passing game look formidable at times. Young star receiver Diontae Johnson had a game-high eight catches for 92-yards and added a touchdown. Rookie Chase Claypool also got in on the action, catching an 84-yard strike from Roethlisberger for a touchdown. James Conner was also able to add 106-yards rushing with one touchdown.

As great as it sounds on paper, the Steelers constantly made errors that allowed the Broncos to climb back into the game in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh had 10 penalties that resulted in 89-yards and turned the ball over twice. Denver had a chance to win the game, having possession of the ball under two minutes, facing a fourth and two from the Steelers 15-yard-line, but quarterback Jeff Driskel was sacked and that resulted in a turnover on downs.

As much as I want the Baltimore-Pittsburgh AFC North rivalry to be all the way back, the Steelers still have more to prove before we can declare that. The Steelers will stay in Pittsburgh as they take on the 0-2 Houston Texans at 1 p.m. next Sunday.