Yes, the NFL Power Rankings are silly.

I’m sure that would be the consensus of this article, so I wanted to get that out of the way first.

However, the general lack of respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers continues into Week 6 of the 2016 NFL season, as the new Power Rankings have the Steelers climbing one spot to Number 6 overall in the weekly list.

I will retract a bit, as prior to playing against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers were respected as the top team in all of football in this same list.

Of course, that was only 2 games into the season.

Following the shalacking by the Eagles, Pittsburgh dropped to number 7, and remained there for two weeks, despite turning around one of their worst losses in franchise history (Eagles) into one of their greatest victories ever (Chiefs).

That wasn’t enough to sway the mind of NFL columnist Elliot Harrison, who compiles the weekly list. Even a victory against the Jets, marking two consecutive victories in which the Steelers handily dispatched solid defenses (while patching numerous injuries on offense and defense) weren’t enough to convince Harrison, who had this to say about the Steelers:

Not getting too high on the Steelers quite yet. Even their most ardent fans will tell you they have a maddening habit of dropping games to way lesser teams — like the Dolphins this coming weekend? — in the Mike Tomlin era.

No bumblin’ and stumblin’ for the Steelers this past Sunday, though. Sammie Coates caught the home run ball, and dropped the easy 1-yarder. Tight end Jesse James picked him up, though, with a touchdown grab on the very next play, setting off chants of “Heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaathhhhh” from some in the stadium. (Never mind that former Steelers tight end Heath Miller has been retired for eight months.)

Notice who we’re talking about here: Coates and James. These guys, RT Chris Hubbard, and other spare parts contributed in a big way.

The Jets came out with a game plan to stop No. 26 and A.B. — only to get beat by everybody else.

Notice that last line?

The Steelers came out and won as part of a team effort. No one individual loss, in which there were more than what filled this past week’s inactive list, kept Pittsburgh from taking the top spot in the AFC.

Yet, Harrison feels compelled to list the New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos, ahead of the Steelers at 2 and 5 respectively.

I get it: Tom Brady‘s back. Everyone is drinking the Kool-Aid (ESPN must’ve alerted me about his every movement on Sunday.) However, this is the same team which just got blanked at home by a division opponent (Buffalo) a week earlier.

Harrison is also concerned about “the next man up” in Pittsburgh possibly making them overated, but apparently doesn’t feel the same about a Broncos squad who lost their first game with rookie QB Paxton Lynch making his first start.

Also troubling, and not to wish ill of those who are, but Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is also facing health issues. How that impacts the team is unknown at this time, but does cause some concern.

Consider, if the playoffs started today, both of those teams would miss obtaining a bye. The Patriots would enter as the 3 seed. The Broncos wouldn’t even win their division, behind the AFC’s number 2 club, the Oakland Raiders (who barely cracked the Top 10, coming in at number 10).

Somehow, the Broncos are still better without their starting quarterback and/or head coach.

Hmm…

Also sliding in ahead of the Steelers are the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings (1) Seattle Seahawks (3) and Atlanta Falcons (4). The Vikings certainly deserve to be there at this point. The Seahawks and Falcons are every bit as debatable when taking into account subjective lists; but if you want to ding the Steelers for a game they haven’t played yet perhaps Harrison should factor in that Seattle lost to the Rams, and the Falcons lost to the Bucanneers.

At least the Steelers lost to a team currently ranked 6th in the NFC, and is unbeaten within their own conference (which neither the Seahawks or Falcons can claim).

Yes, these articles are subjective water cooler talk, but I’m rather dismayed by reading soothsayer-style predictions as justifications for rankings.

If you dislike the Steelers, or don’t feel a particular part of the team is strong: say it.

Otherwise, don’t use the excuse of a potential upcoming “trap game” as a reason to drop the AFC’s best team from the top of your rankings.