TAKING STOCK: PITTSBURGH STEELERS

BY ADAM GREENE

I will admit when I’m wrong and I will tell you now, I was wrong about the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 across the board. I believed two things that turned out to be completely off. First, I thought Mitchell Trubisky would play solid as a starter and keep rookie Kenny Pickett on the bench and, two, I thought they’d end with their first losing record under head coach Mike Tomlin.

Now, to be fair, I didn’t think they’d be garbage. But, I did think 8-9 was the most likely finish. A month into the season and my Trubisky prediction had already blown up in my face like when Cousin Larry tried to make the Bibby Babkas without singing the song. A month later, the Steelers were 2-6 and, while I’d whiffed on my Pickett stays fenced call, the losing record looked as if it was happening.

Then Pittsburgh won seven of its last nine to not only finish with a winning record but stay alive for a potential playoff spot if another game had gone their way in Week 18. Mike Tomlin getting the steelers to at least .500 (or better) has been the best bet in sports since the dude took over the team in 2007 and I, like a fool, thought I could beat the streak. I will not be fooled again.

High points? A 23-20 overtime victory in Week 1 over the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. In that final stretch, they reeled off four consecutive wins including three straight over three of their most hated rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

Kenny Pickett finished his rookie season with a 7-5 record, completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 237 yards rushing and three TDs on the ground. Najee Harris rushed for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns, adding 41 receptions for 229 yards and three scores. Diontae Johnson led the receiving crew with 86 catches for 882 yards, but no TDs. Pickett’s fellow rookie George Pickens had 52 receptions for 801 yards and four touchdowns.

TJ Watt spent plenty of the season injured, so he didn’t repeat as sack champion in the league or on his own team. Instead, the worst thing for Steelers’ opponents happened, they put two other pass rushers in double figures. Alex Highsmith led the way with 14.5 sacks, 63 tackles, 12 for a loss, one pass defended and a forced fumble. Cam Heyward had 10.5 sacks, 74 tackles, 14 for a loss, four passes defended, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Myles Jack finished with 104 tackles, three for a loss and three passes defended. Minkah Fitzpatrick was named an All Pro after picking off six passes to go with his 96 tackles, one for a loss, 11 passes defended and one defensive touchdown.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

2022-23 Record: 9-8

Playoffs: N/A

2023 Super Bowl Odds: +6600

2023 AFC Championship Odds: +3300

2023 AFC North Odds: +460

NOW WHAT?

Well, first off, let’s find those nine wins. This Steelers team, by virtue of player acquisition and Pickett’s freshman to sophomore season improvement alone should be better and they’ll need to be. The AFC, as a whole, is a monster and the AFC North, for my money, is its toughest division as every one of these teams could conceivably make the playoffs. When you realize that those nine victories came with Watt only playing in 10 games and probably only healthy in maybe seven? It wakes you up to the possibilities in Pittsburgh.

Checking out their 2023 slate, a lot of people are going to look at the season opener hosting the San Francisco 49ers and count it as a loss. I’m here to tell you right now, no. Especially with the QB health issues the Niners have, playing in Pittsburgh. They get their first two division games at home too, hosting the Browns and the Ravens and their two road contests before their bye are against the Raiders and the Houston Texans. I see a 3-2 start at worst, but probably 4-1. After that, they have tough games back-to-back at the Los Angeles Rams, then hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars before they get two straight home games against a couple of teams that should be in the bottom half of the league, the Tennessee Titans and the Green Bay Packers, before their rematch with the Browns. Battling the Bengals twice over the last seven weeks is no gift, and wrapping their season in Baltimore is rough too, but, after that, this is a nice schedule. The worst I see them finishing is 9-8, but they could sneak into the playoff bracket at 11-6 with some breaks.

THE DRAFT

Speaking of adding talent, the Steelers aced the draft, landing an A+ grade from your humble narrator thanks to adding offensive tackle Broderick Jones from Georgia in the first round, stealing cornerback (and legacy Stiller) Joey Porter, Jr. from Penn State in the second, then adding Keanu Benton before from Wisconsin before that round ended. The third, is where they got downright larcenous, selecting freakshow tight end Darnell Washington, also from Georgia, before adding a smaller version of TJ Watt in Nick Herbig from, you guessed it, Wisconsin.

FREE AGENCY

The Steelers added depth and some veteran starters in free agency, nabbing linebacker Cole Holcombe from the Philadelphia Eagles, cornerback Patrick Peterson from the Minnesota Vikings, guard Nat Herbig from the New York Jets, safety Keanu Neal from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, outside linebacker Markus Golden from the Arizona Cardinals, cornerback Chandler Sullivan from the Vikings, defensive tackle Armon Watts from the Chicago Bears, right tackle La’Raven Clark from the Titans, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski from the Atlanta Falcons, outside linebacker Tanner Muse from the Seattle Seahawks, defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko from the Los Angeles Chargers and linebacker Kwon Alexander from the Jets.

AFC NORTH

The North is a two-team race and, unfortunately for the Steelers, they probably aren’t one of those two franchises. The Bengals and Ravens are too far ahead, but that doesn’t mean Pittsburgh won’t be battling for a Wild Card spot all the way down to the wire. Like they always do under Tomlin.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

Connect with us our socials on Twitter and Instagram for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.