After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2022, will the Steelers get back in 2023?
Most NFL pundits agree that the Pittsburgh Steelers are among the most improved teams in the AFC. Nevertheless, many assume that despite these improvements, the depth in the AFC and specifically the AFC North will be the undoing of the Steelers when it comes to the playoffs.
But not Peter King. Sunday Night Football on NBC posted King’s AFC playoff picks on Monday and he has Pittsburgh slipping into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed with a 9-8 record.
This would match the Steelers record from 2022 when a late-season rally nearly pushed Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
You can see King’s full picks below and note that the Steelers are one of three teams from the AFC North making the cut.
The Steelers have never had a sub-.500 record under head coach Mike Tomlin. Pittsburgh has made the playoffs six times in the last 10 seasons and aside from 2022 would have made the playoffs in those other seasons if the NFL had implemented the seventh playoff team then.
The last time the Bears selected an offensive lineman in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, they became a Hall of Famer.
For years, the Chicago Bears have neglected the offensive line early on in the NFL Draft. They took swings at some players in the first round within the last two decades, such as Marc Colombo in 2002, Chris Williams in 2008, Gabe Carimi in 2011, and Kyle Long in 2013. Long was the only player to pan out while the other three were busts in the navy and orange. But they were also players mostly picked later in the first round.
That changed with the selection of Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick. The Bears traded down one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick and still got their guy in Wright, who projects to be the team’s starting right tackle almost immediately.
You have to go back 40 years to 1983 to find the last time the Bears spent a top 10 pick on an offensive lineman. That was where they selected Hall of Fame tackle Jimbo Covert with the No. 6 overall pick in what turned out to be a loaded draft class.
Covert was a key player during the Bears’ dominant run in the 1980s. He made multiple Pro Bowls and helped pave running lanes for legendary running back Walter Payton while giving Jim McMahon enough time in the pocket to make plays downfield. Covert helped the Bears win Super Bowl XX and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020.
Nov 20, 1988; Tampa, FL, USA; Chicago Bears tackle Jimbo Covert (74) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium. FILE PHOTO; Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports
The Bears sought a solution to help their new franchise quarterback in McMahon (selected one year earlier) stay upright. Covert played left tackle and the offense improved each season he was on the team. They invested in their valuable offensive players and it led to success the Bears haven’t come close to seeing since. Now the 2023 Bears are doing the same thing, drafting one of the top offensive tackles in the draft to help protect Justin Fields.
This certainly isn’t to say Chicago just drafted a future Hall of Fame tackle or that they’ll go on to win the Super Bowl in a couple of years. But the offense improved considerably when top resources went to the offensive line back in the 1980s. For one reason or another, the Bears neglected to spend a top-10 pick on that position over the years, despite having ample opportunities while passing up elite talent that was still on the board. They took a swing this time and the hope is Wright pays dividends for not only Fields, but the rest of the offense as whole.
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With outside linebacker Melvin Ingram downgraded to out this week versus the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves very thin at outside linebacker.
To help with this problem, the Steelers have elevated former first-round pick Taco Charlton from the practice squad for this week’s game per ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler.
It was reported earlier in the week that Ingram wasn’t happy with his playing time and wanted traded. It feels like the Steelers could give him his wish and it would be much easier to absorb the loss if Charlton can show this week he can play.
Steelers see Taco Charlton – a former first-round pick activated from Pittsburgh’s practice squad – as a potential viable third OLB for coming weeks, which would help facilitate a Melvin Ingram trade. Both sides are open to a trade at this point from what I’m hearing.
It looks like the Steelers are planning to promote Matt Canada to OC.
The #Steelers are expected to promote QB coach Matt Canada to offensive coordinator, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. A creative mind originally from the college game, Canada also interviewed with the #Dolphins but now stays in Pittsburgh.
According to multiple sources including NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to promote current quarterbacks coach Matt Canada to offensive coordinator.
Canada was hired last season from the University of Maryland to bring innovation and creativity to a stale Steelers offense.
The Steelers chose not to renew the contract of Randy Fichtner.
Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that. My grandmother was a immigrant from the Carribean and age worked her ass off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.
We so much emphasis on social justice right now, speaking your truth about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem is dangerous business for all involved.
But to be clear, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt will be standing. Tuitt sent out this powerful tweet on Monday to let everyone know he is standing, why he’s doing it and how he feels about anyone who has am issue with it.
The Steelers have never had a player kneel during the anthem but with so much going on in the country right now it seems a foregone conclusion this will change this season. But don’t look for Tuitt to be one of them.
You can usually tell when things aren’t going well for former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. It typically turns in some sort of Twitter tirade aimed at those he feel has wronged him.
His latest diatribe is aimed squarely at the NFL and he doesn’t hold back as he chose to play the race card in a big way.
It’s sort of sad to see the way Brown’s situation of his own creation forces him to spiral at times. Look for these tweets to be deleted and likely followed with something more professional and coherent likely generated by someone else.
