After Huge Win over Ravens, Steelers May Be AFC's Scariest Team

Somehow, some way, the Pittsburgh Steelers are always there in the end. Perhaps that's the biggest lesson we should take away from their Week 13 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment.

"

I have no idea why we ever count out the #Steelers. Be interested to know what Tomlin said to Harbaugh at the end.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) December 3, 2012"

And Chris Mortensen knows a thing or two about football.

The Steelers find themselves squarely in the driver's seat of their playoff destiny. That's certainly not the first time that sentence has been typed.

They're 7-5 and currently hold the tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals due to their Week 7 head-to-head victory. Every one of Pittsburgh's four remaining games is extremely winnable, with their rematch against Cincy looming as the largest obstacle.

Wouldn't it be just like the Steelers to quietly sneak in the playoffs while getting healthy and building momentum?

Think about it.

Ben Roethlisberger will possibly be back against the San Diego Chargers. That means he will have four games to reintegrate himself into the offense, and two of those contests will be against mediocre passing defenses (San Diego and Cleveland). 

Jonathan Dwyer is really embracing his new-found starting role. He's averaging 4.4 yards per carry and deals out punishment on every rush. He's a prototypical Steelers running back that pounds on defenses.

Quite obviously, the energy spent tackling the big back is energy that can't be expended getting after Roethlisberger. That's a pretty solid way to compensate for such a tough-and-go offensive line.

Get it? Touch and go? OK, back to football.

Lastly, I'm going to break out a phrase I created earlier this season: Pittsburgh has an evergreen defense. Which basically means that the defense is always menacing.

LaMarr Woodley has taken his place among the best outside linebackers, and Troy Polamalu has even been able to stay on the field lately. Those two create a foundation that successful defense can be built upon.

Scared yet? You should be.

I guarantee every AFC team is worried considering a team that's played in two of the last four Super Bowls is rounding into shape.