Did anyone else get a sinking feeling when the New York Jets drove down the field and scored a touchdown to take a 7-3 first-quarter lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

My thought was the Steelers could ill-afford to lose at home to fall to 0-2 in what is going to be a very rugged AFC North Division.

The defense was looking a bit soft, much like it did in the second half against the Denver Broncos in the opening game of the season, which resulted in a 31-19 defeat.

The Steelers defense, however — without safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison — rebounded quite nicely .

It limited the Jets to just three points the rest of the way and just 219 total yards, more than half of which came in the first two drives, when the Jets received their 10 points.

But, once again, what may have saved the Steelers season was the 24-23 loss by the Baltimore Ravens against the Philadelphia Eagles.

I’ll admit, the Ravens scared me this season because they seem like with each year they’ve gotten a little better each time.

They knocked off the Steelers twice last year, giving them the AFC North title despite having identical records.

That forced the Steelers into the wild-card weekend, while the Ravens got a week off and a home game the following week.

The Ravens were a dropped touchdown pass by Lee Evans away from winning the AFC Championship and would have been headed to the Super Bowl.

This year, the Ravens looked poised to rule the AFC — again with defense, a developing Joe Flacco at quarterback, a power-run game led by Ray Rice and strong receivers such as Torrey Smith.

Again, just when the Ravens look unstoppable — like a season-opening 44-13 demolition against the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, who are also a threat to win the AFC North — they falter like they did against the Eagles.

Losing to the Eagles, one of the top teams in the NFC, is nothing to be ashamed of, but Philadelphia is suffering through a bout of turnovers for the time being.

It was a winnable game, but the Ravens let it slip away.

That’s good news for the Steelers, not just in the AFC North, but the AFC in general. Eight teams entered Monday night with a 1-1 record and five sit at 0-2.

The Steelers did not want to see themselves two games below .500 early. For now, the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals each sit a 1-1.

So, the view from atop the AFC North looks better than the bottom, where the Cleveland Browns are at 0-2.

Granted, it’s still early, but in the NFL, you have 16 chances for victories and every one is golden. December will be here quicker than you think.

Falling out of the chase early puts a tremendous burden for a team to climb back.

It’s doable, but you can’t count on it. You can’t assume you’ll take both games against the Ravens and Bengals — or even against the Browns. The division is too strong.

The NFL is definitely a week-to-week league. Falling behind this early could be dangerous and could destroy the entire season.

Pittsburgh, at least for a week, kept its season positive. Baltimore, by losing, gives everyone else a lot more hope.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.