As of today, are the Steelers the 4th best team in the AFCN?

[TimmayLake]

I honestly do not know, but I think we are either 3rd or 4th in the AFCN. Opinions please?

[Pabst]

They're tied for 1st place.

[TimmayLake]

They're tied for 1st place.

And tied for last too.

But where do you see them finishing?

[K_C_]

Joe Burrow has turned into an injury waiting to happen and replacing Mixon could be interesting. Cincy could finish first or last.

Cleveland will likely be a complete train wreck and they have a much better chance of finishing last than first.

Baltimore is the cream of the crop in the north but Lamar sure does miss a lot of games.

I honestly have no idea how this division will play out.

[TimmayLake]

Joe Burrow has turned into an injury waiting to happen and replacing Mixon could be interesting. Cincy could finish first or last.

Cleveland will likely be a complete train wreck and they have a much better chance of finishing last than first.

Baltimore is the cream of the crop in the north but Lamar sure does miss a lot of games.

I honestly have no idea how this division will play out.

Would you say the Steelers have a better chance at finishing first or last?

[Deebo]

They're tied for 1st place.

And tied for last too.

But where do you see them finishing?

This is the weird thing about the Steelers the past year or so:

They seem to struggle against all teams OUTSIDE the North. But they seem built to beat every other team in the division. I could easily see them repeating that this year. They seem to have their divisional opponents' number lately.

[K_C_]

Joe Burrow has turned into an injury waiting to happen and replacing Mixon could be interesting. Cincy could finish first or last.

Cleveland will likely be a complete train wreck and they have a much better chance of finishing last than first.

Baltimore is the cream of the crop in the north but Lamar sure does miss a lot of games.

I honestly have no idea how this division will play out.

Would you say the Steelers have a better chance at finishing first or last?

I would say the Steelers odds of finishing higher than the Browns are really good. I believe the Steelers will either finish in second place (best case scenario) or third place (worst case scenario) because Bill Cosby Jr. Watson has been a very expensive dumpster fire for the Stains and Chubb will likely never be the same again.

[W&M_Steeler]

They're tied for 1st place.

And tied for last too.

But where do you see them finishing?

This is the weird thing about the Steelers the past year or so:

They seem to struggle against all teams OUTSIDE the North. But they seem built to beat every other team in the division. I could easily see them repeating that this year. They seem to have their divisional opponents' number lately.

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-6 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

I'm betting the 2024 Steelers go 9-8, get the 7th seed, and lose by 30 points in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

[Deebo]

And tied for last too.

But where do you see them finishing?

This is the weird thing about the Steelers the past year or so:

They seem to struggle against all teams OUTSIDE the North. But they seem built to beat every other team in the division. I could easily see them repeating that this year. They seem to have their divisional opponents' number lately.

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-5 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

9-8, 7th seed, 30 point loss in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

Tomlin just jizzed on his screen reading this. He wants that sooo badly!

[bradshaw2ben]

This is the weird thing about the Steelers the past year or so:

They seem to struggle against all teams OUTSIDE the North. But they seem built to beat every other team in the division. I could easily see them repeating that this year. They seem to have their divisional opponents' number lately.

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-5 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

9-8, 7th seed, 30 point loss in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

Tomlin just jizzed on his screen reading this. He wants that sooo badly!

Are they going to get two games without Joe Burrow, one and a half without Nick Chubb, and a game against a playoff team resting its starters in week 18? I seriously doubt it, and that was clearly the foundation for going 5-1 vs the division last year.

[W&M_Steeler]

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-5 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

9-8, 7th seed, 30 point loss in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

Tomlin just jizzed on his screen reading this. He wants that sooo badly!

Are they going to get two games without Joe Burrow, one and a half without Nick Chubb, and a game against a playoff team resting its starters in week 18? I seriously doubt it, and that was clearly the foundation for going 5-1 vs the division last year.

I agree that the 5-1 record last year was fluky and less than impressive when you dive into the details. But who knows, maybe the Bengals will be resting starters week 18 this year and the Steelers will get another free win like they did against the Ravens at the end of last season.

Split games with the Ravens due to a Jackson choke job and sweep the Browns (who I don't think will be all that good) and you get 4-2. Give the Browns a win and the Steelers still go 3-3 in the division.

The AFC West outside of KC and The NFC East aren't exactly heavy hitters. The others- Falcons, Jets, Raiders- aren't that impressive either. I can see 5 or 6 ugly Steelers wins in the non-division games.

Again, absent major injury, I don't see this being a collapse year. I'm not a homer, either- I'd prefer a 3-14 season to help accelerate change. But, without major injuries, the Steelers are probably going to be mediocre, not terrible. I think this team be somewhat better overall than it was last season, in fact.

I think the most likely outcome for this season will be Tomlin doing what he does best- take a mediocre team, get them enough ugly wins to sneak into the playoffs, then get destroyed by a good team. It will be another season of crappy, boring, hard to watch Steelers football, like it has been ever since 2019 week 2 when Ben went blew out his elbow.

[Pabst]

Remember that last season:
- Bengals were the favorites to win the AFCN
- Jacksonville were the favorites to win the south
- The Chargers and Jets were betting favorites to reach to playoffs
- New Englands over/under for wins last year was 7.5
- Houston was projected to be the worst team in the AFC

[lifelongsteel]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

[K_C_]

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-5 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

9-8, 7th seed, 30 point loss in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

Tomlin just jizzed on his screen reading this. He wants that sooo badly!

Are they going to get two games without Joe Burrow, one and a half without Nick Chubb, and a game against a playoff team resting its starters in week 18? I seriously doubt it, and that was clearly the foundation for going 5-1 vs the division last year.

Joe Burrow is 3-2 vs the Steelers in his career as a starter. He's about as dominating against Pittsburgh as Lamar Jackson has been.

Dude lost to Mitch Trubisky in overtime 2 years ago on opening day. Mitch Trubisky in a game where Burrow was sacked like 7 times and turned it over 6.

Also let's see if Chubb is the Nick Chubb of old and if he can stay healthy. The type of injury he suffered, like Cole Holcomb's can change the course of a career.

[bradshaw2ben]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

[lifelongsteel]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

I didn't do a game by game analysis (or really any analysis). But I believe all of these things are true: Steelers seem to start slow and finish fast. Steelers perform better than expected against division foes. Tomlin underperforms as a favorite and historically outperforms as a dog. Can't predict injuries or luck.

They probably win 5 or 6 of first nine and 3 or 4 of last 8.

[W&M_Steeler]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

[K_C_]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

This is going to be one weird season for sure. I think everybody here agrees the Steelers need to get off to a hot start, because the schedule is very favorable the first half of the year. Getting off to a hot start is gonna be difficult when we have such a clusterfuck on the o-line (and losing Seumalo for probably 6 weeks is a huge cherry on top that shit sundae.)

That's why I predicted things to come crashing down for Cool Shades but I'll admit nobody has any type of clue what will happen this year. They could be 6-11 or 11-6.

Nothing that happens would surprise me.

[W&M_Steeler]

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

This is going to be one weird season for sure. I think everybody here agrees the Steelers need to get off to a hot start, because the schedule is very favorable the first half of the year. Getting off to a hot start is gonna be difficult when we have such a clusterfuck on the o-line (and losing Seumalo for probably 6 weeks is a huge cherry on top that shit sundae.)

That's why I predicted things to come crashing down for Cool Shades but I'll admit nobody has any type of clue what will happen this year. They could be 6-11 or 11-6.

Nothing that happens would surprise me.

Luckily the Steelers don't have to start the season this year against any team anywhere near as good as the 2023 49ers. I doubt either team will be favored by much more than a FG in the first 9 games, and I see the Steelers winning between 4-6 games with or without Seumalo during this opening crapshoot.

I might reconsider if the Steelers start 0-3.

[anpsteel]

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

This is going to be one weird season for sure. I think everybody here agrees the Steelers need to get off to a hot start, because the schedule is very favorable the first half of the year. Getting off to a hot start is gonna be difficult when we have such a clusterfuck on the o-line (and losing Seumalo for probably 6 weeks is a huge cherry on top that shit sundae.)

That's why I predicted things to come crashing down for Cool Shades but I'll admit nobody has any type of clue what will happen this year. They could be 6-11 or 11-6.

Nothing that happens would surprise me.

Luckily the Steelers don't have to start the season this year against any team anywhere near as good as the 2023 49ers. I doubt either team will be favored by much more than a FG in the first 9 games, and I see the Steelers winning between 4-6 games with or without Seumalo during this opening crapshoot.

I might reconsider if the Steelers start 0-3.

This season is, in large part, going to be determined by the OLine.

IF they manage to develop, and give the QB time and open holes for the RBs, we could have a nice season.

If not, it's going to be really ugly.

For this reason, I'm waiting until I see what the line looks like in the first real game...

[K_C_]

This is going to be one weird season for sure. I think everybody here agrees the Steelers need to get off to a hot start, because the schedule is very favorable the first half of the year. Getting off to a hot start is gonna be difficult when we have such a clusterfuck on the o-line (and losing Seumalo for probably 6 weeks is a huge cherry on top that shit sundae.)

That's why I predicted things to come crashing down for Cool Shades but I'll admit nobody has any type of clue what will happen this year. They could be 6-11 or 11-6.

Nothing that happens would surprise me.

Luckily the Steelers don't have to start the season this year against any team anywhere near as good as the 2023 49ers. I doubt either team will be favored by much more than a FG in the first 9 games, and I see the Steelers winning between 4-6 games with or without Seumalo during this opening crapshoot.

I might reconsider if the Steelers start 0-3.

This season is, in large part, going to be determined by the OLine.

IF they manage to develop, and give the QB time and open holes for the RBs, we could have a nice season.

If not, it's going to be really ugly.

For this reason, I'm waiting until I see what the line looks like in the first real game...

Exactly. The o-line will 100% determine how this season goes in a run heavy Arthur Smith offense. The bad part is we just lost easily our beat o-lineman for over a month, Broderick Jones looks like a bust and Fautanu was banged up and is absolutely going to struggle at times when he's on the field.

Dan Moore, right now, is our best tackle and it's probably not close. Let that sink in and if I'm Russ Wilson, I'm pretty worried.

Thankfully, Frazier looks like he's going to become a star center so on the interior, we could be okay. At tackle, we could be completely fucked.

[W&M_Steeler]

Luckily the Steelers don't have to start the season this year against any team anywhere near as good as the 2023 49ers. I doubt either team will be favored by much more than a FG in the first 9 games, and I see the Steelers winning between 4-6 games with or without Seumalo during this opening crapshoot.

I might reconsider if the Steelers start 0-3.

This season is, in large part, going to be determined by the OLine.

IF they manage to develop, and give the QB time and open holes for the RBs, we could have a nice season.

If not, it's going to be really ugly.

For this reason, I'm waiting until I see what the line looks like in the first real game...

Exactly. The o-line will 100% determine how this season goes in a run heavy Arthur Smith offense. The bad part is we just lost easily our beat o-lineman for over a month, Broderick Jones looks like a bust and Fautanu was banged up and is absolutely going to struggle at times when he's on the field.

Dan Moore, right now, is our best tackle and it's probably not close. Let that sink in and if I'm Russ Wilson, I'm pretty worried.

Thankfully, Frazier looks like he's going to become a star center so on the interior, we could be okay. At tackle, we could be completely fucked.

Is the Oline really that much worse this year? Frazier is probably going to be better than Mason Cole. Even if Broderick continues in his funk, Fautanu is probably not going to be much worse than Chuks. If Spencer Anderson doesn't totally suck, then I don't think the line will be much worse than last year (i.e on the bad side of mediocre)

[K_C_]

This season is, in large part, going to be determined by the OLine.

IF they manage to develop, and give the QB time and open holes for the RBs, we could have a nice season.

If not, it's going to be really ugly.

For this reason, I'm waiting until I see what the line looks like in the first real game...

Exactly. The o-line will 100% determine how this season goes in a run heavy Arthur Smith offense. The bad part is we just lost easily our beat o-lineman for over a month, Broderick Jones looks like a bust and Fautanu was banged up and is absolutely going to struggle at times when he's on the field.

Dan Moore, right now, is our best tackle and it's probably not close. Let that sink in and if I'm Russ Wilson, I'm pretty worried.

Thankfully, Frazier looks like he's going to become a star center so on the interior, we could be okay. At tackle, we could be completely fucked.

Is the Oline really that much worse this year? Frazier is probably going to be better than Mason Cole. Even if Broderick continues in his funk, Fautanu is probably not going to be much worse than Chuks. If Spencer Anderson doesn't totally suck, then I don't think the line will be much worse than last year (i.e on the bad side of mediocre)

Well, Dan Moore graded out among the worst o-lineman in the league and he's the best tackle we have, so I'm worried. You gotta remember that Fautanu is a rookie and he missed pretty close to the entire preseason. Chuks was awful so hopefully you're right and Fautanu doesn't embarrass himself to that level but it's concerning. Broderick Jones is so fucked up technique wise, he makes Dan Moore look like Tony Boselli.

I don't know dude but I will say this: If I'm the Falcons defensive coordinator I go into this game believing the Steelers are going to run the ball about 75% of the time or higher on opening day. Cool Shades knows Russ Wilson might die if he has to hold the ball behind these tackles and if I'm Atlanta, I am selling out to stop the run and forcing the Steelers to run into 7 and 8 man boxes continually because you and I both know that Tomlin and Arthur Smith WILL run right into them.

[W&M_Steeler]

Exactly. The o-line will 100% determine how this season goes in a run heavy Arthur Smith offense. The bad part is we just lost easily our beat o-lineman for over a month, Broderick Jones looks like a bust and Fautanu was banged up and is absolutely going to struggle at times when he's on the field.

Dan Moore, right now, is our best tackle and it's probably not close. Let that sink in and if I'm Russ Wilson, I'm pretty worried.

Thankfully, Frazier looks like he's going to become a star center so on the interior, we could be okay. At tackle, we could be completely fucked.

Is the Oline really that much worse this year? Frazier is probably going to be better than Mason Cole. Even if Broderick continues in his funk, Fautanu is probably not going to be much worse than Chuks. If Spencer Anderson doesn't totally suck, then I don't think the line will be much worse than last year (i.e on the bad side of mediocre)

Well, Dan Moore graded out among the worst o-lineman in the league and he's the best tackle we have, so I'm worried. You gotta remember that Fautanu is a rookie and he missed pretty close to the entire preseason. Chuks was awful so hopefully you're right and Fautanu doesn't embarrass himself to that level but it's concerning. Broderick Jones is so fucked up technique wise, he makes Dan Moore look like Tony Boselli.

I don't know dude but I will say this: If I'm the Falcons defensive coordinator I go into this game believing the Steelers are going to run the ball about 75% of the time or higher on opening day. Cool Shades knows Russ Wilson might die if he has to hold the ball behind these tackles and if I'm Atlanta, I am selling out to stop the run and forcing the Steelers to run into 7 and 8 man boxes continually because you and I both know that Tomlin and Arthur Smith WILL run right into them.

I guess the heart of the issue for me is that the offense last year (until Mason Rudolph came in) was the worst I have ever seen from the Steelers. I agree with everyone' criticisms of the players, Tomlin, Smith, etc. Despite all this, I just don't see the offense being as bad this year. Other than maybe WR, every other position group has either improved or at least not degraded, including the OC. Add in a good defense and, without major injury, it's hard to see this team bottoming out. Achieving NHALS might be a nail-biter, but I think we'll get there.

The Atlanta game should be interesting. Smith is certainly familiar with them and should be able to exploit some weaknesses, but the same is likely true with regards to the Falcons against Smith.

[bradshaw2ben]

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

This is going to be one weird season for sure. I think everybody here agrees the Steelers need to get off to a hot start, because the schedule is very favorable the first half of the year. Getting off to a hot start is gonna be difficult when we have such a clusterfuck on the o-line (and losing Seumalo for probably 6 weeks is a huge cherry on top that shit sundae.)

That's why I predicted things to come crashing down for Cool Shades but I'll admit nobody has any type of clue what will happen this year. They could be 6-11 or 11-6.

Nothing that happens would surprise me.

Luckily the Steelers don't have to start the season this year against any team anywhere near as good as the 2023 49ers. I doubt either team will be favored by much more than a FG in the first 9 games, and I see the Steelers winning between 4-6 games with or without Seumalo during this opening crapshoot.

I might reconsider if the Steelers start 0-3.

I think 1-2 is damn likely

[SteelerDayTrader]

The only way I see the Steelers being competitive is if Russ Wilson really plays way above expectations

I look at the roster and with a below average R Wilson I think they will really struggle to win 9 games

[Stillerz Bar]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

On one hand, the second half schedule looks brutal but on the other, 6 of the 8 games are against AFCN teams and as others have mentioned, Tomlin generally does well in Division games. I only checked back for the last 10 years and during that time he also has NHALS within the Division. With that in mind, 3-5 wins in thst stretch isn't out of the question.

[stillthere]

For all our justified complaints about Tomlin, he always seems to have the team ready to play against AFCN teams. I don't recall Mr. "2 Time League MVP" Lamar Jackson ever having a good game against the Steelers.

I still think this is a 9-8 team, depending on how injuries shake out. Defense should be good, and the offense should be better than the Canada-Pickett debacle.

4-2 in the division, 5-5 in the other games seems reasonable absent major injuries.

9-8, 7th seed, 30 point loss in the Wildcard Round- that's Tomlin ball, baby!

Tomlin just jizzed on his screen reading this. He wants that sooo badly!

Are they going to get two games without Joe Burrow, one and a half without Nick Chubb, and a game against a playoff team resting its starters in week 18? I seriously doubt it, and that was clearly the foundation for going 5-1 vs the division last year.

Considering all those games are in the last 9 or 10 weeks of the season. It is possible we don't see Burrow, Watson or Jackson at all this season.

[stillthere]

I think the Ravens are seriously overrated. Yes, they will rattle off a number of impressive regular season wins against teams that don't see Lamar very often, but once they play teams that know "how" to play Lamar they will crumble. The Bengals have very high upside and are probably best suited outside the Chiefs to get to the SB, but they also have some downside - not sure they've managed the roster well to compliment Burrow. The Steelers are better on paper than last year, but harder schedule and less luck drives a similar result. Cleveland? I think a lot rides on Watson, so mediocrity is the likely outcome.

Gun to my head I'd go something like
Bengals 12-5 (2 seed)
Ravens 11-6 (5 seed)
Steelers 9-8 (8 seed, losing out due to a tiebreaker)
Browns 8-9

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

Pittsburgh has not won a regular season game in Philly for like 50 years or 70 years. I forget the number.

[K_C_]

How many wins do you see for the Steelers in the last 8 games? Does examining that end of the schedule affect you prediction for overall record? I just can't see more than 2 or 3 wins in the last 8, even accounting for playing well in division. That means they'd have to go at least 6-2 in the first 8. Coming in with so many changes to start the year on offense, 6-2 seems... unlikely.

3-5 wins could be possible in the last 8.

Splitting the games in the division would give 3 wins. Win an extra game in division and that gives you 4. The Eagles looks winnable too based on the end of last year.

Pittsburgh has not won a regular season game in Philly for like 50 years or 70 years. I forget the number.

Wouldn't it be crazy if Hurts gets injured a week or 2 before the game and the Steelers face Kenny?

That would be nuts.