NFL Predictions: 5 Reasons Why Pittsburgh Steelers Will Win the AFC

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who many people tabbed as "too old and slow" to be competitive, beat the New England Patriots on Sunday to cap a four-game winning streak after a 2-2 start and become the current top seed in the AFC.  

Here are five reasons why I think the Steelers should be able to maintain a hold on the top seed and enter the playoffs with a first-round bye and home-field advantage.

5. Schedule

Here is the Steelers schedule for the rest of the year:

Week 9: Ravens

Week 10: At Bengals

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: At Chiefs

Week 13: Bengals

Week 14: Browns

Week 15: At 49ers

Week 16: Rams

Week 17: At Browns

The first big game, obviously, is this week's primetime matchup with the Ravens at Heinz Field.  In their first game in Week 1, the Steelers looked unprepared, both physically and emotionally, and got destroyed by a fired-up Ravens squad. 

This prompted sportswriters everywhere to say that the Ravens were the new team to beat in the AFC North and that the Steelers were too old to compete. 

Not so fast. 

The Steelers have won five of their last six, while the Ravens, though 5-2, have not looked as good as everyone hoped they would be.  They are coming off an ugly loss against the pathetic Jaguars last Monday and a close comeback against a team they should have demolished in the Arizona Cardinals.  I think that the Steelers will be fired up to avenge their last meeting and the Ravens will continue their downward spiral. 

If the Steelers can get past a Week 10 matchup with the suddenly-relevant Cincinnati Bengals, they should be able to get healthy over their bye week and win out against an easy schedule that includes the Browns twice.  The only potential letdown I can see is week fifteen against the 49ers, but other than that this team can easily go 14-2 or 13-3.

4. Relative Weakness of Their Competition

The only real competition for the Steelers in the AFC in my mind are the Patriots, Bills, Ravens and possibly the Texans. 

The Steelers already have a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Patriots, and with tough matchups like the Giants, Jets and Eagles coming up, I don't think the Patriots have what it takes to go anything better than 12-4.  Their pass defense has been exposed, and with several good offenses left on the schedule, I don't see the Patriots posing much of a threat.

The Bills are a surprising 5-2 and currently in possession of the second seed in the AFC, thanks to their tiebreaker win over the Patriots.  While the Bills are certainly a good team and should make the playoffs as a wild card, I don't think they have the experience and durability to be a factor for home-field advantage.

I'll say it right now: Joe Flacco is not an elite quarterback.  I don't think he has what it takes to win a Super Bowl.  I think that as long as Big Ben is quarterbacking the Steelers and Flacco is quarterbacking the Ravens, the Steelers will continue to win the AFC North.  I don't think Flacco has what it takes to keep it together down the stretch.  The Steelers should be able to take care of business Sunday night and fend off the Ravens the rest of the way.

3) Ben Roethlisberger/Mike Wallace

Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace has become one of the very best passing combinations in the National Football League.  Mike Wallace not only is the fastest player in the NFL and usually good for at least one big play per game, but he has also made huge strides as a route runner under the tutelage of Hines Ward.  He has developed as a complete receiver who can go across the middle as well as make plays in the screen game. 

Combine that with the emergence of Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders and the reliability of Heath Miller and Hines Ward, and you have a scary Steelers passing attack.

2. Experience

The thing that separates the Steelers from teams like the Bills or Texans is the maturity and experience of the Steelers locker room.  Most of the key players on both sides of the ball have been around for a while and have multiple rings.  Younger players like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown know what it's like to lose a Super Bowl and want to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Mike Tomlin is a great coach who knows how to keep a group of players motivated and disciplined, and he is one of the main reasons why the Steelers are always competitive in January.

1. Defense

Defense wins championships. 

As much as the NFL has evolved into a league where even average quarterbacks will throw for over 4,000 yards and offenses dominate the stat sheet, there's a reason why the Steelers have been in three of the past six Super Bowls—and that reason is defense. 

Under Dick LeBeau, the Steelers are perennially one of the top five defenses in the NFL.  Their pass defense is the best in the NFL, and their run defense, after an early season scare and despite the loss of James Harrison and Aaron Smith, ranks a respectable eighth. 

Ike Taylor looked more like Darelle Revis on Sunday the way he followed Wes Welker all over the field.  LaMarr Woodley has turned into one of the best all-around linebackers in the AFC.  James Harrison will be back soon, allowing Lawrence Timmons to go back to his normal position at inside linebacker and reforming a scary linebacking corps.  Ziggy Hood has been great as a replacement for Aaron Smith.  And Troy Polamalu is Troy Polamalu.

Conclusion

This is how I see the AFC wrapping up:

1) Steelers: 13-3

2) Patriots: 12-4

3) Texans: 10-6

4) Raiders: 9-7

5) Bills: 11-5

6) Ravens: 11-5