The Steelers are coming out of their bye with a real chance to grab control of the AFC North, and the second half of the season could tell us plenty about how far this team can go. Pittsburgh sits at 6-2 and opens the back stretch with a showdown against the Bengals, a game that could stretch the winning streak to five and give the Steelers a firmer grip on the division.
That’s the backdrop for a few bold calls about what comes next. Even with the trade deadline still looming, this roster has work to do. But if Pittsburgh is going to make the kind of postseason push it has in mind, a few things have to break right over the final nine games.
Start with Chris Boswell, whose 2026 season has been uneven despite the new contract that made him one of the highest-paid kickers in the league. He’s hit 18 of 23 field goals, but the trouble has come from distance.
Boswell has been flawless inside 40 yards, yet he’s only made eight of 13 tries from 40 yards and beyond. That 78.5% mark sits well below his career 87.1% success rate.
Still, the big leg is there. His longest make this season is 58 yards, and his career best is a 60-yarder he drilled last year.
The prediction here is that Boswell won’t just top that number - he’ll set a new standard by season’s end. The longest field goal in NFL history is Cam Little’s 69-yarder from last season, and Boswell is projected to outdo it before the year is over.
Pat Freiermuth is another player set up for a big finish. His career high for touchdown catches is seven, and he’s reached that total twice. Through eight games this season, he already has four touchdown grabs, which leads all Steelers receivers.
With nine games left, the tight end should stay heavily involved. Pittsburgh has leaned on its tight ends all year, and Freiermuth and Darnell Washington have combined for seven of Aaron Rodgers’s 13 touchdown passes.
Rodgers keeps looking that way, and Freiermuth is expected to keep cashing in. The prediction is a new career high for him, and not just by a little - he’s forecast to reach double digits for the first time in his NFL career.
Then there’s the defense, which continues to look like the kind of unit Steelers fans know by heart. It isn’t perfect, but the pass rush has been relentless.
Pittsburgh leads the NFL with 26.0 sacks entering Week 9, with T.J. Watt accounting for 7.5 of them.
That kind of production puts the Steelers in range of a franchise record. The team mark is 56.0 sacks, set in both 2020 and 2017. The 2021, 2001 and 1994 teams finished with 55.0, according to StatMuse.
At the current rate, this defense should clear 50.0 sacks without much trouble. But the projection goes further than that. With Watt playing at an MVP level and Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig both positioned for big second-half stretches, Pittsburgh’s pass rush looks capable of pushing all the way to a new team record by the end of the season.
In Other News...
Steelers Trade Chatter Now Involves A Veteran Defender
The Steelers inside linebacker room has been one of the steadier parts of the roster this season, but it could still be an area to watch as the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaches. According to Sports Illustrateds Albert Breer, Pittsburgh is at least considering moving a veteran defender who has not had a major role this year, even with the team getting solid play in the middle of the defense.
Cole Holcomb has been with the Steelers since 2023, but his time in Pittsburgh has been shaped by injury and limited usage, including missing the entire 2024 season because of a knee issue. With the deadline drawing closer, the question is whether the Steelers decide to keep the veteran depth in place or use the opportunity to reshape a position group that already has stronger contributors ahead of him. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Trade Deadline Could Reveal How Serious They Are About Winning
The trade deadline has a way of forcing teams to show their hand, and for the Steelers, the question is whether they are willing to address a receiver room that has been thinned by injuries and left with obvious depth concerns. Pittsburghs postseason hopes are still very much in play, which is why any move at wideout would say as much about the organizations urgency as it would about the current roster.
Omar Khans front office has not been quick to chase help in the past, especially when it means parting with draft picks, so there is a familiar tug-of-war here between protecting future assets and pushing harder in the present. If the Steelers decide not to act, they would be leaning on what they already have, and that leaves the deadline less as a shopping window than a test of how seriously they view this seasons opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Trade Buzz Puts Two Roster Needs Front And Center
With the 2027 NFL trade deadline still ahead, the Steelers are already being linked to the kind of roster help that tends to surface when a contender starts looking for one more push. The names floating around point to two obvious areas of need: another pass catcher and another piece in the secondary, with wide receivers Josh Downs, Hollywood Brown, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston all mentioned as possible fits, along with defensive backs Riq Woolen, Donte Jackson, Cam Hart and Amani Hooker.
None of it has moved beyond speculation, but the chatter is a reminder of how Pittsburgh is being viewed as a team that could shop for upgrades rather than stand pat. For now, the Steelers are simply in the mix as a buyer to watch, and the real intrigue is which direction they decide to prioritize when the market actually starts to move. [Read more 🡒]