NFL power rankings: Steelers must prove themselves in Week 5

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a much needed early bye last week, and as a result didn't move much in the power rankings. The Steelers sit at 1-2, but got to use the time off to get key players healthy before they face the Philadelphia Eagles in the battle of Pennsylvania on Sunday.

In Joel Thorman's power rankings at SB Nation, he realizes that the Week 5 contest is important for Pittsburgh:

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 11, 1-2): Idle week for Pittsburgh but next week's game is big: vs. Eagles.

A loss and a drop to 1-3 would make a tough first quarter of the season and put the Steelers in a hole moving forward. But, as noted in the ESPN power rankings, which has the Steelers at 16th, Mike Tomlin has won his last four games after bye weeks. Brian Billick at Fox Sports also has Pittsburgh at No. 16 and NFL.com has the Steelers at No. 14. At CBS Sports, Pete Prisco has the Steelers all the way up at No. 12 and notes that the bye should help:

A week off was probably a good thing for a team that has had a lot of injuries in the early going.

Averaging all the polls gives Pittsburgh a power ranking of 14.2.