Early bye weeks make for a long second half of the season. But the timing couldn’t have been better for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who suffered a rash of injuries early on. Diontae Johnson, DeMarvin Leal, Pat Freiermuth, Dan Moore, Jr., James Daniels, Pressley Harvin III and Anthony McFarland Jr. succumbed to injuries that sidelined them for one or more games.
The Steelers will release their first injury report of the week this afternoon following practice, but it appears all will suit up for the Rams game in Los Angeles. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward (groin) remains on injured reserve likely until Week 10 versus the Green Bay Packers.
Where they took a hit was in the AFC North standings. What promised to be a competitive division got more challenging with all three of their division rivals — Browns, Bengals and Ravens — winning their matchups on Sunday. The Steelers held onto a slim lead in the North but were bumped by the Ravens, who defeated the Tennessee Titans.
Within the conference, the AFC North is the tightest with all divisions, save the East, having more than one team with a record above .500. Half of Pittsburgh’s remaining dozen games are against opponents with winning records. Steelers Wire predicts a 6-6 record for the team in the second half of the season to finish with another (barely) winning Mike Tomlin record at 9-8.
