Meanwhile in the AFC North…

The Steelers on paper should win the TNF game however this stat makes me a tad nervous

Since 2007, Tomlin's first season as head coach, the Steelers have been 9-11 on Thursday night football, including an abysmal 1-5 since 2019.

 

Well home teams had a almost 60% win rate on Thursday night years ago, but that has dropped to about 53 to 56 % in recent years.

 

Our road to Super Bowl is cleared. The Patriots are winning the East. Of course, the Ravens are already in draft mode.

 

Sure as hell not me; doubly so with the Colts. That said, how well Daniel Jones is performing is much more of an indictment of the way that the New York Giants have handled him than it ever was how well Daniel Jones was developing. In Brian Daboll's defense, he inherited Jones and did all he could with him. It just never worked out.


Thankfully though, a new lease on life with Shane Steichen has allowed Daniel to maximize his talents. Dude is playing the best of his career. Should this continue, Daniel Jones just may be the future of the Colts; at a cheap price no less.


As for Pittsburgh?! Man... I thought that the Defense would have to hard carry and the Offense would have some severe growing pains. Well... in Week 1 I was 100% wrong. Defense struggled mightily in that game while Aaron Rodgers had to bail them out. Week 2?! Entire team was a letdown; doubly so Special Teams. Since Week 2 though?! Defense has been playing pretty good to lights out while the young Offense is slowly finding their groove.


Gonna need more of that this coming Thursday Night. After that?! Phew boy...... that is where the real tests begin; Green Bay being first up. Not nearly as formidable as once thought but still a dangerous team no less. Indy is right after.

 

Joey Porter Jr. acting just like his father against Cleveland; things you like to see. Jerry Jeudy is just the latest of players in the saga.

 

No Ravens, No Bengals, No Chiefs in the Playoffs?
We will be duking it out with Patriots, Colts, and Broncos.

 

Gotta remember that the very same Falcons team you mentioned is STACKED Offensively. Talk about a warchest of riches at the position!! Arthur Smith may have not made it work during his time in Atlanta but boy oh boy did he leave Zac Robinson some seriously awesome weapons to use. Atlanta's Offensive Line isn't too shabby either. Michael Penix Jr. was exactly what me and @Blast Furnace discussed during the 2024 NFL Draft; people making a mountain out of a molehill. Penix wasn't going to be the issue.. provided if Atlanta got the right OC. Surprise, surprise... Atlanta did and now Penix is becoming the QB the Falcons need him to be.


Biggest underrated story though of the NFL has been the Falcons Defense. Ruke Orhorohro is quickly turning out to be worth the wait after being a bit of a project. James Pearce, a player that should have gone much higher than he was, is also rounding into the bat outta hell me and @KnoxVegasSteel alluded to leading up to this past draft. Jalon Walker is also coming into his own a bit. Long story short?! That Falcons Defense is ranked as the number one unit in all of football; the potential to be even better no less.


They put belt to ass on Josh Allen; the NFLs Defending MVP Award Recipient. Their next two games against San Francisco and Miami do shape up nicely for them.

 

Agree anyone can beat anyone and the Steelers will win games where they won’t be favoured but the schedule still absolutely matters and the Steelers have had a relatively soft stretch on paper and on the field to date.

 

Pretty easy to gameplan against one player, even for the Bengals.

 

Uh, don't forget what put the Steelers in this position. One injury to Rodgers and the picture completely changes. While I like Rudolph there is no way he can make the plays Rodgers is making.

 

The Falcons have good young talent but they are also very unpredictable, as we never know which team will show up!

Remember, they lost 30-0 to the Panthers not too long ago!

 

Reason? We are seeing more divisional games popping up on TNF..... (not complaining, the games are actually a little more entertaining compared to the past).

 

But I think they move Parsons around quite a bit.

 

I was curious about Colts success so checked it. They played the following ranked defenses (pts): #29, #2, #26, #3, #23, #14
Steelers have played the #28, #6, #7, #5, #21.

 

I'm not so sure I see the Ravens recovering but if you're already leaving the Chiefs out of the playoffs, you're one of those who turns your back on Jason Vorhees thinking he's dead. Bad idea.

 

Huh? The Chiefs will be in the playoffs. Did you miss them soundly beating the Lions Sunday night?

 

That could be why it's closer now. I really didn't look into who was playing whom, so you may have nailed it.

 

I totally agree. Just like I never counted out Brady, I will never count out Mahomes.