The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent years living in the league’s awkward middle ground - good enough to stay relevant, not good enough to break through. This offseason was supposed to be the turn. Mike Tomlin out, Mike McCarthy in, fresh talent added on offense, and Aaron Rodgers heading into what’s being framed as his final season with a real push in mind.
Not everyone is buying the hype.
FanSided’s Mark Powell already has Pittsburgh on his list of teams he’s ready to cross off in the Super Bowl race, and he didn’t exactly soften the blow. In his rundown of ten clubs he sees as non-contenders, he put the Steelers right alongside the NFL’s bottom tier.
"The Steelers are on the downswing. It's brutally obvious to everyone but the Steelers and their ownership group.
Pittsburgh had a chance to move forward and retool this offseason when Mike Tomlin left. The Steelers were embarrassed in the AFC Wild Card round, after all, and have lost seven straight postseason games largely in the same fashion.
Instead, the Steelers kept course."
That skepticism comes with a little irony. ESPN’s win projections have nine of Powell’s ten teams at 7.5 wins or lower, while Pittsburgh sits at 8.5 - a reminder that the Steelers still project better than most of the league’s also-rans, even if that hasn’t translated into real postseason success lately.
There is at least a case for optimism here. Patrick Graham takes over the defense, and he’s shown in Las Vegas that he can squeeze respectable production out of limited personnel.
On the other side of the ball, the Steelers added Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard, giving Rodgers more help around him. Rodgers has also thrived in McCarthy’s system before.
If that all clicks, Pittsburgh could absolutely settle in as a playoff team. A top-ten defense and an offense that lands somewhere around league average would be enough to put the Steelers in the bracket and give them a shot once January arrives.
But that’s where the ceiling debate starts. Even with the roster filling out nicely, Powell’s larger point is hard to ignore: making the playoffs is one thing, surviving the AFC is another. If the conference’s heavyweights bounce back, Pittsburgh would still have a brutal path just to reach the Super Bowl, and that’s the real reason the doubts are already piling up.
In Other News...
DK Metcalf Just Created An Awkward Steelers Problem Off The Field
DK Metcalf arrived in Pittsburgh in March with the kind of profile that was supposed to give the Steelers a true difference-maker on the outside, and the four-year extension that came with the trade only deepened the sense that the team was investing in him for the long haul. On the field, the move was easy to understand. Off it, Metcalf has already created a different kind of conversation around a player the Steelers were hoping would be known mostly for his production and presence in the passing game.
The latest issue comes on top of a separate round of public criticism over an Instagram story that drew attention for the wrong reasons, adding another layer of distraction around one of the franchises biggest offseason additions. And with Metcalf later facing a two-game NFL suspension after a physical altercation with a fan during a game, the Steelers are left dealing with a question they did not exactly sign up for when they made the deal: how much off-field noise can they absorb from a player they expected to help define their offense? [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Roster Squeeze Just Put Several Surprise Spots In Play
The Steelers got through the preseason with their quarterback room intact, and now the hard part shifts to the rest of the roster. Pittsburgh confirmed all four quarterbacks made it through the exhibition slate with spots secured, while several of the teams biggest names, including Aaron Rodgers, T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and D.K. Metcalf, stayed home for the preseason trip to Buffalo.
With the final cuts looming, a few other places on the depth chart still look unsettled, especially around players on the Physically Unable to Perform list and veterans who can help on special teams. Rookie returner Kaden Wetjen gave himself a strong case with a 47-yard touchdown, a play that likely locked him in, but the roster squeeze still leaves room for a couple of surprise decisions before Pittsburgh gets to Week 1. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fringe Players Just Made Roster Decisions A Lot Tougher
The Steelers used their final preseason game against the Bills as one last look at the bubble before roster cuts, and there was plenty to sort through. Will Howard had a rough outing at quarterback, while the backup offensive line left its own questions hanging as Broderick Jones and Max Iheanachor were part of a group still fighting to show they can be trusted when the real games begin.
Elsewhere, the running game offered a better showing, with Lew Nichols and Eli Heidenreich helping give the offense some needed life. Even so, Kaleb Johnson did not help his case much in the battle for a spot, and with most of the defense sitting except for nose tackle Yahya Black, the Steelers still have a few last decisions to make before the roster gets trimmed. [Read more 🡒]