NFL Predictions: Why Pittsburgh Steelers Are Still Team to Beat in AFC

Don’t look now, but there is a new sheriff in the AFC. The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading up the mountain and knocking teams out of their way in pursuit of another Super Bowl title.

Admittedly, this is not the same team that faced Green Bay, but it's one that is good enough to take the AFC crown and challenge for another ring.

Why am I stating the obvious, you say? Well, there are many teams that could reach the playoffs, make some noise and maybe surprise a few people, but the Steelers look like the most complete team, regardless of falling to the Baltimore Ravens twice this year.

The most impressive thing I see out of this team is resiliency. Ben Roethlisberger is playing at an MVP level, and he continues to show the maturity the team has been waiting for since drafting him.

His mechanics are better, his location of receivers is more accurate and his timing has improved and, although I am not a fan, he is now a top-six quarterback in this league, and if he is not considered for postseason honors, there is something wrong within the hierarchy of voting by the media.

The defense, although older and a little slower, is still a top-five defense. It has been tested and challenged and while it looked a little thin in the final minutes against the Ravens two weeks ago, the pressure the front seven puts on the offensive line and the quarterback is unrelenting.

The defense still shows a fire inside with the “trinity” of James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons is still the best in football. The secondary has Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu, and the defensive line and offensive lines still pack a punch.

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The AFC is a conundrum of questions. The North Division is tight and close and the Steelers are fighting with the Ravens and Bengals for playoff spots, as are others.

The AFC West is polluted with craters in the road. Oakland, San Diego, Kansas City and Denver all have a chance to make the playoffs, but there will only be one team coming from this division.

The AFC South looks like it is Houston’s to lose, but that might change now that Matt Schaub is injured and Tennessee may have found the runner it was finally looking for in Chris Johnson. Yes, that Chris Johnson.

Now, we look to the AFC East and see three teams—New England, New York and Buffalo—that all want the same thing, and there may be a team on the outside looking in.

So, that leaves us with Steelers. A team that when the season started looked old, slow and failing. Baltimore is a Jekyll and Hyde team. Cincinnati is young and not ready. The Steelers will prevail.

The best teams in the NFL rise above adversity and make it happen, and one of the three most storied teams in NFL history will show again that history on its side is pretty good thing.

And that will help the team prevail.