How the Steelers overcame adversity in 2017 to earn another AFC North title

The Pittsburgh Steelers are AFC North champions for the third time in four years and the eighth time since the division was created in 2002. And even though the Steelers locked up the division with three weeks to spare, getting through 2017 wasn’t a walk in the park for Pittsburgh.

Five weeks into the year, the Steelers were 3-2 and Ben Roethlisberger admitted to reporters “maybe I don’t have it anymore” after throwing five interceptions in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Since then, the Steelers haven’t lost. They locked up the AFC North with an eighth consecutive win Sunday — and another comeback win. Down 31-20, they stormed back in the fourth quarter to stun the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football with a 39-38 win. It was the third game in a row the Steelers won on a Chris Boswell field goal.

Long before the season ever started, the Steelers had a lot of tough decisions to make. The team’s superstar running back, Le’Veon Bell, wanted a gigantic contract, Roethlisberger said his time in the NFL could be over, and coming to terms on a new deal with wide receiver Antonio Brown was a priority.

Brown got his new contract, Roethlisberger announced he’d return, but Bell didn’t sign a new deal and eventually had to stick with a one-year deal under the franchise tag instead.

With Bell holding out for all of training camp and preseason, the running back finally signed his franchise tender and joined the team nine days before the regular season opener. Unsurprisingly, it took him a while to get going, with Bell managing just 180 rushing yards in the first three weeks.

The team had to deal with drama started by wide receiver Martavis Bryant. And there was also a potentially divisive moment for the team when offensive tackle Antonio Villanueva was photographed as the only player on the Steelers who came out of the locker room for the playing of the national anthem in Week 3.

In December, the Steelers lost linebacker Ryan Shazier for the season due to a spinal injury that required surgery and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster received a one-game suspension for a block on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

But Pittsburgh navigated all those hurdles and came out the other side as one of the most fun and explosive teams in the NFL.

Not only is it still one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, it is also top five in points and yards allowed and has shut down opposing pass offenses. It’s a complete team and may be more well set up than ever to make another Super Bowl run.

No team has won more Super Bowls than the Steelers and the 25th division title for Pittsburgh ties the franchise with the New York Giants for the second most in NFL history, behind only the 28 titles for the Green Bay Packers.

But what’s important now is finishing the season strong with the Patriots neck and neck with the Steelers for the top seed in the AFC. That spot will likely be determined next week in a crucial battle with the Patriots in Pittsburgh.

Either way, the Steelers can lock up a first-round bye so long as the team wins its final two games of the season against the Texans and Browns.