After seven weeks of the 2015 NFL season there are five undefeated teams. The New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers all find themselves with a zero in the loss column as we head into Week 8. The Atlanta Falcons are 6-1 and the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals all have two losses. But which team is the best non-undefeated NFL team in 2015?
The answer isn’t even one of the teams listed above. I wanted to go with the 5-2, NFC West leading, Cardinals because they look they are playing some good football. Quarterback Carson Palmer is having a heck of a year, throwing for 2,012 yards so far this season with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Running back Chris Johnson is having a really nice season, rushing for 567 yards on 111 carries (5.1 yards per carry) and 3 touchdowns. But Arizona’s wins have come over the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Those teams are a combined 8-19, so even though Bruce Arian’s team certainly looks capable of winning the NFC West and making a deep run in the playoffs, it’s difficult to know for sure at this point.
The best team of those with at least one loss is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Don’t let the 4-3 record fool you. Mike Tomlin’s team lost their season opener to the undefeated Patriots, on the road, without running back Le’Veon Bell, who is one of the best backs in the NFL. They then won their next two games, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered an MCL sprain and bone bruise in the Steelers Week 3 win against the St. Louis Rams. However, Pittsburgh has managed to go 2-2 with Big Ben on the sideline and backup quarterback Michael Vick and Landry Jones (who took over for an injured Vick during Pittsburgh’s Week 6 win against the Cardinals) under center.
Reportedly Roethlisberger may be ready for Week 8 when the Steelers take on the undefeated Bengals, and if that ends up being the case that would be a huge boost to Pittsburgh. Big Ben is a top-five quarterback in the NFL, and him being under center automatically makes the Steelers much better.
Tomlin’s team also has one of the best running backs in the league in Le’Veon Bell. Even though he missed the first two games of the season due to suspension Bell still has three rushing touchdowns and three games where he rushed for over 100 yards. The talented back is averaging 4.1 yards per carry and he’s gained 25 first downs this season.
In addition to Roethlisberger and Bell the Steelers have wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. Brown has 46 catches for 671 yards (three games over 100 yards) with two touchdowns this season. In 12 career games Bryant has 11 touchdowns, and 34 receptions and he is rapidly becoming a great complement to Brown. Once Roethlisberger is back, and Steelers fans hope it is this Sunday, look for all of the weapons Pittsburgh has on offense to be utilized even more.
Pittsburgh may be allowing 376.6 yards per game (24th) on defense, and they need to improve against the pass (ranked 27th); but they rank 8th against the run (99.7 yards per game) and they are allowing opponents to score only 18.7 points per game (7th). The Steelers have also had to deal with a fair amount of injuries to key players on defense in 2015. If Pittsburgh can get healthy on that side of the ball for the second half of the season that could bode well for their chances at a deep postseason run.
I know it’s weird to be putting a team with a 4-3 record as the best non-undefeated team in the NFL, but the Steelers have proven they are capable of being one of the league’s best teams. They just need to get healthy.
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