The Steelers jumped from 3rd to 1st place without even playing this week

It was a good week to be the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had a bye this week, a little time to recuperate after a rough and tumble affair with the Bengals last week. More importantly, they’re now in first place in the AFC North for the first time this season and they didn’t have to a damn thing this week to get there.

The weirdest part is that they’re kind of getting a little side benefit from their tie with the Browns in Week 1.

Here’s a look at the current standings.

It’s all about the win percentage, and that tie works out better than a loss when it comes to the mathematics. The Steelers also happen to be 1-1-1 in their division. That gives them a slight advantage over the Ravens, who are 1-2 in the AFC North.

All three of those other teams did play this week, and they all lost. The Ravens lost a heartbreaker to the Saints when Justin Tucker missed the game-tying extra point, the first missed XP of his whole damn career.

The Bengals looked like they didn’t have much left after last week’s narrow and, ahem, questionable loss to the Steelers. They got torched by the Chiefs on Sunday night. The Browns continued to be a slightly more competitive version of the same old Browns, losing in overtime to the Bucs. But at least Baker Mayfield made nice new meme.

Okay, this won’t last for the Steelers, right?

No, it probably will. They host the Browns next week. And given the Browns’ recent/never-ending struggles and Hue Jackson’s promise to get more involved with the offense, it looks like an easy win for Pittsburgh this week. Meanwhile, the Ravens have a tough road game against the Panthers in Week 8. The Bengals are home against the Bucs.

If the Steelers win this week, they’ll keep their leg up, especially if the Ravens fall to the Panthers. That sets up a Week 9 game between the Steelers and Ravens that could go a long way toward determining the division race the rest of the season.

All this is happening without Le’Veon Bell who was supposedly going to be showing up [checks watch] about now! We’ll see if he actually does, though he probably will or he’ll lose his eligibility for free agency next year.

Bell’s return should help the Steelers, but then again, it might only add more chaos to a locker room in perpetual toil. Either way, baring significant injuries, it looks like the Steelers will be going to playoffs again this season, proving once again that it’s just as important to be lucky as it is to be good.