Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers were arguably the NFL’s streakiest team last year. After beginning the season with a perfect 11-0 record, Pittsburgh lost five of their final six games, including getting bounced from the playoffs by the division-rival Cleveland Browns.
After some speculation that he would retire, Ben Roethlisberger is returning to the Steelers for his 18th season. Roethlisberger’s return keeps the Steelers in the running for another winning season, but it’s difficult to envision Pittsburgh eclipsing their win total from the 2020-21 season, even with the extra game on the schedule this year. The Steelers’ biggest issue last season was their lack of a consistent rushing attack.
They ranked last in the league with just 84.4 rushing yards per game and had the fifth-fewest rushing attempts in the league. Keep in mind that Pittsburgh finished the regular season with a +104 point differential. This means the Steelers were often ahead in games, throwing out any notion that they ran the ball so infrequently because of game script. The fact of the matter is that the Steelers didn’t run the ball because they couldn’t do it well enough; they ended the regular season with a league-worst 3.6 rush yards per attempt.
Flash forward to today and the Steelers are set to have the same offensive issues as they did last season. Instead of using their first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman, they elected to take Najee Harris, a running back out of Alabama. Harris could be a fantastic NFL running back, but the best way to improve your team’s run game is to build a better offensive line, not to add more talent to your running back room. Roethlisberger had his struggles last year, and while part of that can be attributed to the team’s lack of a run game, it’s clear Roethlisberger’s age is catching up to him. The Steelers still have a high-end wide receiver corps (What’s new?), but with an aging QB and an unproven ground game, their offense could hold the team back once again this upcoming season.
Not much needs to be said about the Steelers’ defense. Last season, Pittsburgh’s unit allowed the third-fewest total yards per game and points per game. While they did lose some starters, Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick will anchor the defensive line and secondary, respectively, once again.
While the overall feel of this preview may seem negative, the Steelers are still a good team. Mike Tomlin is one of the better head coaches in the league, and the Steelers’ combination of an elite head coach, veteran QB and strong defense make it extremely likely that Tomlin extends his streak of consecutive winning seasons as a head coach. However, the question marks surrounding the offensive line and the fact that the Steelers play in one of the most competitive divisions in football limits their upside.
Regular season record prediction: 10-7