Pittsburgh previously held a 0.5-game lead over both the Ravens and Bengals going into the weekend, but Baltimore’s win coupled with Pittsburgh’s bye pushes the Steelers back to second in the division.

Baltimore has complete control over the division at this point, owning tiebreakers over the Steelers and Bengals. The Ravens have yet to lose an AFC North game, meaning it’s their division to lose.

The Steelers will need help in order to win the AFC North in the form of at least one Baltimore loss the rest of the season. The Ravens’ schedule is relatively light the rest of the way, aside from a Thanksgiving night matchup against the San Francisco 49ers Thursday and a season-ending game at Cincinnati — both would be playoff teams if the playoffs started today.

Pittsburgh has games against Cincinnati (Dec. 4) and San Francisco (Dec. 19) as well. Those two opponents could decide the division between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Here are the current AFC North standings with six weeks remaining in the regular season…

AFC North Standings:
Baltimore Ravens — 7-3 overall, 3-0 division
Pittsburgh Steelers — 7-3 overall, 1-2 division
Cincinnati Bengals — 6-4 overall, 1-2 division
Cleveland Browns — 4-6 overall, 0-1 division

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Filed under: Football, Sports, Steelers Tagged: AFC North, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Standings

The Baltimore Ravens (6-3) went out to Seattle and lost, 22-17, meaning Pittsburgh (7-3) is back in first place in the AFC North. That, despite losing twice to the Ravens this season.

Just as they did after a 35-7 Week 1 beat down, the Ravens lost after an emotional win against the Steelers. In Week 2 the Ravens lost at Tennessee, 26-13.

Pittsburgh is a half game ahead of both Baltimore and Cincinnati (6-3), who play each other this week. If the Ravens win they move back into sole possession of first place. If Cincinnati wins the Steelers stay in first place, as they own a tiebreaker over the Bengals from Sunday’s win.

The Steelers have their bye week this week and return to action Nov. 27 at Kansas City.

Filed under: Football, Sports, Steelers Tagged: AFC North, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Standing

It’s the second straight week Clark has been fined, as he received a $15,000 fine last week for a hit against the New England Patriots. Clark actually spoke out in approval for the first fine, but he wasn’t as supportive of the league’s decision on Wednesday.

Quite simply, Clark said “this time it’s wrong.”

“We watched this in slo-mo as a team, and as a team say if you’re going to dislodge the ball from somebody, this is the legal way to do it,” Clark said. “This is what we talked about in our meeting.”

Clark hit Ravens wide receiver Ed Dickson down field, jarring the ball loose and causing an incompletion. His helmet grazed the facemask of Dickson, but most of the impact appeared to be between Clark’s shoulder and the chest of the receiver.

Clark was flagged on the play, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pointed out to his players this week that Clark — despite the flag — made the perfect play to dislodge the ball from the receiver.

“I think the fine that Ryan Clark received was excessive,” Tomlin said in a statement. “I am a proponent of player safety and the league’s pursuit of improvement in this area. I, like the vast majority of people in this industry, witness daily the steep price that these young men pay to play this game on so many levels.

“Ryan has my full support if he chooses to appeal this in any way.”

Clark says he expects to appeal the fine, but he’s not optimistic the penalty will change.

“I mean you can appeal but I’m appealing to the same person (Roger Goodell),” he said. “The same man (that issued the fine). I know he’s not going to sit across from because I’m not going to sit across from him unless they handcuff me, which is probably the next step anyway.”

Other quotables from Clark regarding the fine:

• “There wasn’t anything malicious about it. It wasn’t a spear. It wasn’t a forearm to the head. It wasn’t any of those things and to be fined $40,000 for that? To me it’s either targeting me as a single player or it’s targeting this team.”
• “I was actually expecting to get a call back and say that it wasn’t wrong, because it wasn’t. I did everything I was asked to do and Goodell and all those other guys, they sit in their office with their suits and make these decisions on what a split-second reaction by the player is and this time it’s wrong.”
• “Am I supposed to let him catch it and then wait for him and hug him? Should I throw a pillow at him? Should I blow a whistle? ‘Hey look, I’m about to tackle you.’ No, that’s not football.”

Filed under: Football, Sports, Steelers Tagged: Baltimore Ravens, Ed Dickson, Fined, Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Clark

Looking back at the Baltimore game where Hines left and did not return because of concussion-like symptoms, Hines said he, “got a little dinged up, but, [he] will be ready for Cincinnati.” Hines wanted to finish the  game, saying, “I thought I could play, but, for whatever reason, they didn’t want to risk anything.”

As for the young receivers around him, Hines says that he is having fun playing and when it is time for him to move on from the Steelers, he will leave it in good hands. Hines takes great pride in the fact that Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders are all turning into great blocking wide-receivers, which is something that he has preached to them.

Looking forward to the Bengals, Hines sees a team that is much-improved, and it will be a fight for the Steelers to come out of Cincy with a win.

For the entire interview, click below:

Filed under: Football, Heard on The Fan, Sports, Steelers, Watch + Listen Tagged: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ed updates Hines Ward’s condition and comments on Joe Flacco, Larry Foote and Ike Taylor’s sub-par performance.

Filed under: Football, Heard on The Fan, Sports, Steelers, Watch + Listen Tagged: AFC North, Baltimore Ravens, Ed Bouchette, Ike Taylor, Joe Flacco, Larry Foote, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers

It is rumored that Polamalu will receive around 35-40 million for those 4 years.  The contract will likely be largely guaranteed and contain a large signing bonus.  It is a good investment for the Steelers and it's well deserved.  The Steelers defense is very dependent on his outstanding playmaking ability and it shows by their record when he's on the field.  He's an outstanding player but an even better person.  He's an ambassador for the Steelers and the NFL.

Troy Polamalu Key Career Statistics:

• 6× Pro Bowl selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,2008, 2010)
• 4× All-Pro selection (2004, 2005, 2008, 2010)
• 2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII)
• 3× AFC Champion (2005, 2008, 2010)
• “Joe Greene Great Performance Award” (2003)
• NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
• Steelers Most Valuable Player Award (2010)
• 2010 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year
• 2010 NFL Alumni Player of the Year
• Ranked #6 on NFL's top 100 players of 2011

Discuss Troy's contract and more at the Pittsburgh Steelers Forum

1. Ex-Steeler Verron Haynes Breaksdown Week 1 vs the Ravens
2. Analysis of the Steelers Offensive 53 Man Roster
3. Analysis of the Steelers Defensive 53 Man Roster
4. Why Tony Hills was Expendable?
5. Why Crezdon Butler Got Waived?
6. My Week 1 Prediction

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Best of 2003 NFL Draft

For the Steelers to win, they need to stop the mistakes. The Ravens are being opportunistic off of Steelers turnovers. The Steelers already have 2 fumbles and 6 penalties. That is way too much against a tough Baltimore team.

The Steelers get the ball at the half. The Steelers need to score quick but they can't get impatient. The Ravens offense has done little but they have capitalized off of Steelers mental mistakes.

Baltimore defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said he will appeal the $15,000 fine he received for striking quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the face. No penalty was called. Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose. "I felt like there was no other way I could have played that play because I'm swimming the guard," Ngata told the Baltimore Sun. "He starts to duck, and my arm is coming down over the guard."