With the official start of the 2022 NFL regular season just around the corner, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting ready to take on the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday at 1 PM EST. The team will finally be able to play together at full strength and put out their best product, which is exciting.
The Steelers, as everyone knows, are entering a new time of uncertainty. We know the defense can be scary good and the offense has a ton of promising, young talent that could produce better than people expect. The question has been at the quarterback position.
Whether it is Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky starting Sunday is a question that is still not answered by Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff. But either way, we still might be able to get a good grasp on how the season will go and the expectations Steelers fans should have.
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 28: Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action during the game against the Detroit Lions at Acrisure Stadium on August 28, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Steelers Season Expectations
A lot of things must come into play when you try to project the outcome of the whole season. Just like I said above, the team is pretty underrated when it comes to the amount of talent they have. If the quarterback position and the offensive line can get even figured out a little bit, this team can be legit.
But those are big IF’s.
Trubisky is in his sixth year in the league and is definitely showing progress since his rocky start in Chicago. There are still some issues in Trubisky’s game, but there’s little reason to think that he can’t get those figured out. I personally like Pickett more and think Pickett will play this season, but the difference in wins is probably pretty low (maybe 1 at most).
The biggest issue is the offensive line. The game is won in the trenches, and while the Steelers defensive line is among the best, their counterparts are among the worst. The team tried to fix this issue in the off-season and even added Jesse Davis this past week, but it looked awful during the preseason.
Expect these issues to lose multiple games for the Steelers. They are arguably the two most important position groups on a football team, and if they don’t perform well, the team as a whole will not perform well.
We must also consider the toughness of the schedule and how many times the Steelers play teams that can really expose their weaknesses. They start off with a tough opener at Cincinnati, but have a very favorable next three weeks with the New England Patriots at home Week 2, at the Cleveland Browns Week 3 and then back home again to face the New York Jets Week 4.
Very Tough 7-Week Stretch on Steelers Schedule
The truth of this team is revealed during this next seven-week span of games. After the Jets, the Steelers play at the Buffalo Bills, at home against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at the Miami Dolphins, at the Philadelphia Eagles, at home versus the New Orleans Saints, at home versus the Bengals and finish off this span at the Indianapolis Colts. That stretch of games is one of the hardest stretches that any team will have to go through this season, and will really tell us whether the team can be above .500 and reach the playoffs, or have a down year.
That stretch also does not even include both Baltimore Ravens games and a late-season bout with the Las Vegas Raiders.
My Expectations on the 2022 Steelers
At the end of the day, Mike Tomlin is too good of a coach to let a team with this much talent fail. When I see graphics all over social media and analysts on shows predicting records like 5-12, 6-11 or 7-10 for the Steelers, it baffles me. Do people forget how good of a coach Mike Tomlin is? He willed a team led by Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges to an 8-8 record in 2019, and this roster is much better than that one was.
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 28: George Pickens #14 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during the game against the Detroit Lions at Acrisure Stadium on August 28, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
But, as bad as the offensive line might be and with as many questions surrounding the quarterback position that there are, that hinders the team from being able to be a serious Super Bowl or playoff contender.
I have the Steelers finishing 9-8 and Coach Tomlin keeping his winning-season streak alive.
What do you think, #SteelerNation? Do you think the Steelers will be a playoff team this season? What do you think their record will be, and do you think Mike Tomlin will keep his winning-season streak alive? Let me know in the comments below or @anthonyravasio on Twitter.
