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Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked out a 9-8 record and almost made the playoffs. All indications are this year’s team will be better than last year’s but will it matter in the big picture?
Nate Davis of USA TODAY took on the unenviable task of predicting the final records of all 32 NFL teams. For the Steelers, Davis was optimistic that Pittsburgh will build off of the late-season surge in 2022 and carry that to even more success in 2023.
However, despite giving the Steelers an 11-6 record, he has them third in the AFC North behind the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens and missing out on a playoff spot.
Maybe 11 wins feel overly optimistic at first blush given the conference gauntlet and the especially unforgiving AFC North. But consider that the Steelers closed 2022 with a four-game win streak – salvaging HC Mike Tomlin’s perfect streak without a sub-.500 season – and that was with rookie QB Kenny Pickett, OLB T.J. Watt out nearly half the season and RB Najee Harris not quite resembling the player who was so productive as a rookie in 2021. And with likely future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson and second-rounder Joey Porter Jr. aboard to solidify the corners for a pass defense that slipped to a No. 19 ranking, a two-game improvement from 9-8 ought to be perfectly achievable.
Winning 11 games and missing the playoffs would be a bitter pill to swallow. The last won 11 or more games in 2020 and while it didn’t amount to a playoff win it was good enough for an AFC North title. An 11-win season and third place in the division is a longshot and would almost certainly enrage much of Steeler Nation.
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