Steelers embark on ‘real football’ of AFC North with chance to put stranglehold on division

As one of the 11 significant contributors new to the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, DK Metcalf has never participated in an intra-division AFC North game.

With a game against the Cleveland Browns on tap Sunday, Metcalf has been well-versed in what to expect.

“I’ve heard,” the star wide receiver said this week of AFC North matchups, “that this is where real football is played.”

And though the Steelers had to wait until mid-October for their first AFC North game of the season, over a five-day span they could potentially put a real stranglehold on the division.

Longtime Seahawk DK Metcalf on making his debut in an AFC North game Sunday when his Steelers face the Browns

“I’ve heard this is where real football is played.” pic.twitter.com/r99MIEoFq9

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 8, 2025

The Steelers (3-1) could open up as much as a 3 1/2-game lead in the AFC North race before the season even hits its halfway point. All that would need to happen is a sweep of the Ohio teams (they play at the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday) combined with a Bengals loss as 14 1/2-point underdogs at the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Coach Mike Tomlin wants none of this division-title talk before Columbus Day — “I’m not a big-picture guy,” he said this week. But what Tomlin decidedly does not shy away from is playing up the importance of games against AFC North rivals.

“ ‘Coach T,’ it’s big for him, those divisional games,” left tackle Broderick Jones said. “You can just tell, like when it’s a divisional week, he comes in with a different mindset, a different fire about himself. So he does a good job, you know, just preparing us and having us ready for those games when they come around.”

Tomlin emphasizes the added value and significance associated with games against opponents from the AFC North, a division he has won seven times over his previous 18 seasons as coach. Tomlin is as open with his players as he is with the media that the Steelers structure their roster with an eye toward defeating their division rivals.

“Like Mike T says, a lot of guys are brought here for these types of matchups,” star edge defender T.J. Watt said. “Guys get drafted, guys get brought in for the AFC North matchups, and specifically these types of games.”

Among those brought in over the past 19 months are a handful of players who played on other AFC North teams: safeties DeShon Elliott, Chuck Clark, Juan Thornhill and Jabrill Peppers, defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale and linebackers Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison (the latter is on injured reserve).

“It’s always going to be, like, a little bit more like intense,” said Thornhill, who joins Ekuale and Peppers as ex-Browns. “The emotion is going to be a lot (heightened), and it’s going to be a lot of fun. The games mean a little bit more when you play against these division teams. You know, just like the chirping and things like that.”

The Steelers have won the AFC North — established in 2002 — more than any other team. Their nine North titles outpace the Baltimore Ravens’ seven and the Bengals’ six (the Browns have never won the North).

But the Steelers haven’t won the division since 2020. Though they were in what was called the AFC Central with Cincinnati, Cleveland and others from 1970-2001, only once since they joined the AFC after he 1970 NFL/AFL merger had the Steelers gone more than three consecutive seasons without winning their division.

It’s still very early, but it’s looking awfully encouraging that the drought could end in 2025. The Steelers are the only team in the division with a winning record. Baltimore (1-4) and Cincinnati (2-3) are without their star starting quarterbacks. Cleveland (1-4) benched and then traded its starter, Joe Flacco, to the Bengals. The Browns, who have a 21-game regular-season losing streak in Pittsburgh, are starting a rookie third-round pick in Dillon Gabriel.

Still, anything can happen. It’s the AFC North, after all.

“I mean, you can throw records out the window for games like this,” Watt said. “It’s very physical. Home-field advantage is huge in games like these. We know them. They know us.”