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

Harrison Knocks Out Massaquoi

I think everyone agrees they don't like seeing plays getting carted off the field on stretchers. Likewise, no one would wish neurological damage.

With all that being said, the NFL are hypocrites by fining and possibly suspending players for unintentional hits. The NFL makes millions of dollars from these "illegal" hits. It will interesting to see who will be the first agent or player to sue the NFL for monetizing a hit that was classified as illegal by the league and fined the player. Here are just a few items where the NFL is cashing in:

1) A picture of James Harrison's "illegal" hit being sold by an NFL vendor (Click link for details)

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2) The "Moment of Impact" DVD. (Click link for details)

3) Fining the Players (Where does the money go???)

4) NFL Network (segments that glorify illegal hits)

5) ESPN (formerly the "Jacked Up" segments)

6) FOX / CBS / ESPN announcers & replays that glorifying these hits

This has been an incredible turn of events for Mendenhall.  Less than a month ago, Tomlin didn't play Mendenhall one snap against the Cincinnati Bengals because he didn't feel comfortable that Mendenhall knew his assignments and lacked game time preparation throughout the week.  Now, Mendenhall has impressed coaches, teammates, and fans alike with his running style that's been averaging over 5 yards a carry.  Mendenhall has showed a great, and decisive burst through the hole, speed, hands (in the passing game), and the ability to break tackles.  He's been one of the pleasant surprises this year along with Mike Wallace.

Mendenhall will have a difficult task this week against a very strong Vikings defensive front.  Many critics of Mendenhall say that his success is due to the weak run defenses of the San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns.   This week, Mendenhall has the opportunity to silence those critics.

Heath Miller

Browns today at 1pm at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA.  The Steelers have the opportunity to win its 3^rd straight game against a struggling Cleveland Browns team.  Last week, the Browns somehow pulled out a 6-3 victory against the Buffalo Bills which was one of the most painful games I had to watch in a long time.  Starting Browns quarterback, Derek Anderson went a miserable 2-17 in passing, but somehow the Browns were victorious.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 28-20 win against the Detroit Lions.  The Steelers offense looked impressive again with Rashard Mendenhall averaging over 5 yards a carry and Ben Roethlisberger distributing the ball nicely to a wide range of his weapons including Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Heath Miller and rookie, Mike Wallace.

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Not so impressive was the Steelers defense.  Again, the defense allowed an inferior team to come back in the first quarter until a streak of sacks by LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison ended the game.  From the defensivie perspective, the good news is that all-pro safety, Troy Polamalu is returning to action for the first time since the season opener against the Tennessee Titans.  The bad news is standout defensive end, Aaron Smith, who is critical to the Steelers 3-4 is out for the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff.

And now for our Predictions:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger - Big Ben is off to one of his best starts in his already very successful career from a statistical perspective.  Roethlisberger is 1^st in the league in completion percentage and second in total yards only behind Peyton Manning. Roethlisberger is being considered a league Most Valuable Player (MVP) by most and I expect his numbers to only get better especially against a struggling Browns team.  Big Ben is a strong pickup this week amongst fantasy owners.

Heath Miller - Miller is on pace for his first Pro Bowl appearance and has been exceptional for the Steelers passing game so far this season.  Miller is second on the team with 29 receptions and 235 yards. He also leads the receiving corps with 3 TD's.  Expect about 60 yards receiving and another touchdown for Heath Miller this week.

Hines Ward - Ward is the Steelers leading receiver thus far this season with 33 receptions and 440 yards receiving.  With Holmes wrist injury continuing to be a nagging problem, Ward will see more balls thrown his way.  However, it's concerning to fantasy owners that Ward only has 1 touchdown so far this season.  With all things considering Ward is still a good play this week against the Browns.

Rashard Mendenhall - Mendenall has looked real impressive the past couple of weeks with Willie Parker being out due to a turf toe injury.  In two games, Mendenhall is averaging over 5 yards a carry and has 3 touchdowns.  Against the league's worst running defense Mendenhall is expected to start and will see the majority of all carries with Fast Willie being the change of pace back as he recovers from his injury.

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Cleveland Browns

Joshua Cribbs - Unfortunately for the Browns, based on their play thus far this season, Cribbs is the only guy I would consider as a fantasy owner this week.  With Braylon Edwards being traded to the Jets, Cribbs should see some increased action as a 3^rd WR.  Aside from that, Cribbs is well known to be an extremely dangerous kick-off returner and has had prior success against the Steelers special teams unit.

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Braylon Edwards

Expect Edwards to put up a better performance than last week in which he had 2 receptions for only 14 yards. Edwards also dropped 3 passes. Edwards will probably be matched up with the Steelers top corner, Ike Taylor all day. Free Safety, Ryan Clark will provide over-the-top help for Ike. Also expect Troy Polamalu to be a presence in the Steelers secondary which should also help contain Edwards.

Kellen Winslow

Last week, Winslow grabbed five balls for 47 yards and a touchdown. Expect similar numbers (or more) from Winslow this week. I expect Winslow to see more balls thrown his way due to the Steelers very active pass rush. Derek Anderson won't have much time to look down field which should mean that Winslow will see more action. I expect Lawrence Timmons to see significant playing time this week and matched up against Winslow. Winslow will be given the slight edge as he has more experience, but Timmons has the size, speed, and agility to match up well with Winslow. Remember, the Steelers drafted Timmons because they were intrigued with his athleticism and his ability to match up one on one with tight ends such as Winslow.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Willie Parker

Willie Parker should have another good week for fantasy owners. While I don't think he'll have the same type of success as last week, I still expect at least 100 yards and a TD from Parker. Parker may be less successful due to the large defensive line of the Cleveland Browns. In the past, our offensive line has had trouble with larger defensive lines. The Browns boast a large defensive line especially with free agent pickup Shaun Rogers.

Santonio Holmes

Holmes had a quiet week 1 with only 2 receptions for 19 yards. I expect Holmes to bounce back with a big week against the Browns. The Browns secondary is depleted with injuries and Holmes is too good to contain. Both Roethlisberger and Holmes seem to play well in there college alumni states. (Miami (OH) and OSU respectively).

Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben was 13 of 14 with 137 yards and two touchdowns in week 1 versus the Houston Texans. With a depleted Browns secondary, Roethlisberger should be able to throw at will versus the Browns. The only cause for concern is Roethlisberger's sore shoulder that he suffered from a hit by Mario Williams. If the offensive line can keep Roethlisberger clean, expect big things from #7.