By Jessica Costello
SteelerNation.com
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one job during Monday Night Football and that's to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. The slow, and quite honestly embarrassing, start to the season ties them for last place with the Bengals in the AFC North.
If Pittsburgh isn't able to come out with a victory against Cincinnati tonight, talks of the AFC North race becomes irrelevant for them. But thanks to the Cleveland Browns 40-25 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the division got a little more interesting. The Browns and Ravens are now tied for first in the division at 2-2.
Oddly enough considering the 0-3 start to the 2019 season, the Steelers can be within one game of the division lead if they pull out the win against the Bengals. This means the Steelers aren't completely dead yet, as fans and analysts are implying.
First and foremost, they have to beat the Bengals, but looking ahead to Week 5, they have another AFC North matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. If the Bengals are put into a 0-4 rut, the game with Baltimore may be what determines what team is significantly left behind the rest.
The Browns next game is with the undefeated San Francisco 49ers for a Monday night game. After that, they'll host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6. After their Week 7 bye, they'll face the New England Patriots. With their record sitting at 2-2, the Browns next three games have a combined record of 10-1. All three of these teams have also beat the Steelers this season.
So yes, technically the Browns are the division leader right now, but their schedule doesn't get any easier from here. The AFC North is very much unpredictable right now.
Head coach, Mike Tomlin, isn't focused on anything but the Bengals game.
"What we need to do is get a win," he said to the media as the team prepared for the matchup.
Many Steelers fans have pointed the finger at Tomlin for Pittsburgh not making it to a Super Bowl since 2010. This season doesn't change anything for them either as it's a rare spot for the Steelers to be in. Instead of the being celebrated and excited for prime time games, their next few games will be an examination of what's gone wrong for the team.
But ultimately, nothing else matters if the Steelers can't take care of business tonight against the Bengals.
What do you think Steeler Nation, will Pittsburgh come out with the win tonight? What are your predictions with the AFC North in the coming weeks? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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