PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2021 WIN PREDICTION

BY ADAM GREENE

Is this the end for Ben Roethlisberger? That seems to be the narrative as the future first ballot Hall of Famer embarks on his 18^th season. The math for the Steelers is pretty easy. If Roethlisberger stays healthy, they’re legitimate AFC and Super Bowl contenders.

Unlike, say, the Green Bay Packers, who have alienated their All-Universe QB by drafting a guy too early, the Steelers have done just the opposite. They’ve picked quarterbacks while Roethlisberger has been on the roster, that on their best day are probably back ups. This past draft, when they should have really thought about grabbing a guy like Kyle Trask out of Florida in the second round to be the quarterback of the future, they instead picked a tight end to go with the running back they selected in the first round.

Pittsburgh is going to ride Roethlisberger all the way, win or lose, while giving him all the tools around him to succeed. It’s worked so far.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Last season: 12-4, 1^st place, AFC North

2021 odds: under 8.5 wins -125, over 8.5 wins -105

2021 NFL Draft: Najee Harris, RB, Alabama – Round 1, Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State – Round 2, Kendrick Green, OG, Illinois – Round 3, Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M – Round 4, Buddy Johnson, ILB, Texas A&M – Round 4, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DT, Wisconsin – Round 5, Quincy Roche, LB, Miami – Round 6, Tre Norwood, CB, Oklahoma – Round 7, Pressley Harvin III, P, Georgia Tech – Round 7

UDFAs: Shakur Brown, CB – Michigan State, Calvin Bundage, LB – Oklahoma State, Rico Bussey, WR – Hawaii, Mark Gilbert, CB – Duke, Isaiah McKoy, WR – Kent State, Donovan Stiner, Safety – Florida, Lamont Wade, Safety – Penn State, Jamar Watson, LB – Kentucky

Acquisitions: Trai Turner, RG – Free Agent, B.J. Finney, C – Free Agent, Joe Haeg, RG – Free Agent, Miles Killebrew, LB – Free Agent, Arthur Maulet, CB – Free Agent, Rashaad Coward, RG – Free Agent, Kalen Ballage, RB – Free Agent

Key Losses: Bud Dupree- Edge, Maurkice Pouncey – C, David DeCastro – RG, Avery Williamson – LB, Mike Hilton – CV, Matt Feiler – RT, Jayrone Elliott- Edge, Danny Isidora – RG, Jordan Dangerfield – Safety, Sean Davis – Safety, James Conner – RB, Jerald Hawkins – RT, Olasunkam,o Ademoyi – Edge

PRESUMED STARTERS

QB: Ben Roethlisberger

RB: Najee Harris

WR: JuJu Smith-Schuster

WR: Chase Claypool

WR: Diontae Johnson

TE: Eric Ebron

FB: Derek Watt

LT: Chukwuma Okorafor

LG: Kevin Dotson

C: Kendrick Green

RG: Trai Turner

RT: Zach Banner

LDE: Stephon Tuitt

NT: Tyson Alualu

RDE: Cameron Heyward

OLB: T.J. Watt

LILB: Vince Williams

RILB: Devin Bush

OLB: Alex Highsmith

CB: Joe Haden

CB: Cameron Sutton

SS: Terrell Edmunds

FS: Minkah Fitzpatrick

K: Chris Boswell

P: Pressley Harvin III

FORECAST

The Steelers don’t get a lot of relief from their schedule this season. Not only do they play in the second toughest division in the sport, but they get stuck with the AFC West and the Seattle Seahawks as their “17^th game.” Luckily, the cross conference draw is the NFC North and, the Packers and Aaron Rodgers’ impasse notwithstanding, Pittsburgh should be able to handle the rest of that group with little trouble.

The key stretch for the Steelers comes in the final month of the season, exactly where the team wilted last year. They host the Tennessee Titans, then travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs before welcoming the Cleveland Browns to Heinz Field. They finish up with a road trip to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in the season finale. I have a feeling all of those will be “playoff games” for Mike Tomlin’s crew.

Final Record Prediction: 11-6, AFC North Champions

The NFL season begins on Thursday, Sep. 9 and the Week 1 Schedule is already up and taking bets at BetOnline.AG.

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