Pittsburgh Steelers early game-by-game predictions for 2021 season

Week 17: Browns @ Steelers

There’s no denying the Browns are an improved team, and I love what they did in the draft this year. However, I just can’t get myself to believe that they will sweep the Steelers in 2021. Pittsburgh did everything they could this offseason to maintain a competitive roster. Assuming they get a little more help on the ground, everything else should start to open up.

Cleveland’s defense is improving and they have a lot of talented young players, but they aren’t quite there yet. I think the Steelers do enough to contain the Browns offense while outscoring Cleveland in an all-important game with playoff implications.

Prediction: Win (9-7)

Week 18: Steelers @ Ravens

Even if the Ravens have a playoff seed locked up by this point, they aren’t just going to roll over and let Pittsburgh have this one. We saw this in 2019. When the Steelers needed a win plus a few other games to go their way, a Robert Griffin-led Ravens offense (that was resting many of their starters) still stuck it to a desperate Steelers team in a 28-10 win.

Sitting at 9-7, the Steelers could desperately need this game, but it’s possible that Baltimore does as well. The Steelers have lost their final game over the past two seasons. Judging by the way they normally finish the year, I have them falling short in this contest.

Prediction: Loss (9-8)

With an extra seed in the playoffs, 9-8 might be a good enough record to make the tournament – depending on how things play out. However, it’s going to be hard to believe that this team will be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and Ben Roethlisberger must take a huge leap forward at age 39 in order for that to happen in what could be his final season.