Pittsburgh Steelers selected as a 2020 Super Bowl contender

The Pittsburgh Steelers contending in 2020 depends on the guy under center.

As the upcoming NFL season inches closer and closer to beginning, there seems to be an increasing amount of people who believe the Pittsburgh Steelers can make some noise this year.

Of the multiple reasons why the Steelers bandwagon is starting to fill up is the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

It’s not that people believe Roethlisberger is going to come out and put up monster numbers in 2020. They just know that his performance this season cannot be any worse than what the Pittsburgh backup quarterbacks did out on the field in 2019.

Pittsburgh Steelers viewed as a Super Bowl contender in 2020

In addition to those who have already made it known that they think the Steelers can contend for a championship this season, add The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz to the list.

Heifetz believes Pittsburgh has what it takes to deliver the franchise another Vince Lombardi trophy this year. However, he also makes it clear that the Steelers contending is very dependent on the presence and performance of Roethlisberger.

"“Entering the 2020 season, the Steelers look ready to contend for the Super Bowl—if Roethlisberger can stay healthy. That has been Pittsburgh’s default for about 15 years, but in 2020 the feeling is even stronger.”"

Heifetz went on to highlight the massive struggles the Steelers offense faced last year without their top quarterback on the field including the fact that opposing defenses would just put the majority of their efforts into stopping Pittsburgh’s rushing attack.

So with Roethlisberger back, Heifetz believes, “the Steelers have an excellent chance to be closer to a top-five offense than a bottom-five one in 2020.”

Pittsburgh getting their starting signal-caller back out on the field does so much more than just improve their passing attack. Roethlisberger’s return will also open up the running game and allow the Steelers defense to get some actual rest.

Heifetz knows that even though Pittsburgh missed the playoffs last season, finishing with an 8-8 record was still impressive when considering the putrid quarterback play they had to work with.

Roethlisberger has lot of pressure on his shoulders this year to transform the offense back into being, at the very least, a semi-productive unit. Will the veteran quarterback crumble under the pressure or will he give the Steelers the boost they need to emerge as a Super Bowl contender this season?