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Steelers' Mike Tomlin doesn't care rest of AFC North is crumbling: 'I'm not a big-picture guy' 

The Pittsburgh Steelers had about as good a fortnight as they could imagine.

Mike Tomlin's club traveled to Dublin and beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4. Then, this past Sunday, they sat at home and watched their division lead increase as the rest of the AFC North deteriorated.

Not that Tomlin is concerned with any other team.

"I don't care what happened with other people, particularly last weekend," Tomlin said Tuesday, via The Associated Press. "It's about us coming off the bye and getting ready for our game this week. I'm not a big-picture guy."

The Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) lost at home to the Detroit Lions, the Baltimore Ravens (1-4) got walloped by the Houston Texans, and the Cleveland Browns (1-4) lost in London to the Vikings.

Things are so dire in the rest of the AFC North that the Bengals just traded for 40-year-old benched Browns quarterback Joe Flacco in an effort to save their season. Cleveland is experimenting with an all-rookie QB room. The Ravens, who could be without Lamar Jackson for another week, shipped out former first-rounder Odafe Oweh for safety Alohi Gilman after injuries ravaged every level of their defense.

Tomlin might have scoffed at the division crumbling around them, but Steelers players were paying attention during their off week.

"I was watching every AFC North game I watched," linebacker Alex Highsmith said. "It was nice to see those teams lose this week. So we got to take advantage of it."

In addition to watching the rest of the division lose, the Steelers are on the mend. Highsmith (ankle) was back at practice. Corner Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) could return.

Pittsburgh currently is the leader of a struggling division.

Every team in the AFC North has a negative point differential through Week 5, led by the Steelers' -2. The Bengals have the worst point differential (-71) in the NFL in 2025. The AFC North's -159 combined point differential is the worst in the division's history and the worst by any division through five weeks since the 2002 realignment, per NFL Research. The .368 combined win percentage is also the worst in division history.

The Steelers face back-to-back division foes, hosting the Browns on Sunday and the Bengals in Week 7. Two victories could put significant distance between them and the rest of the division before the halfway mark.

"It's still very early in this process," Tomlin said. "We've got 13 straight games ahead of us. So keep watching."

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