Colin Cowherd predicts losing record for Steelers two years in a row

Colin Cowher recently made headlines for predicting the Steelers would have a losing record in 2021. Is he off-base with his prediction this year? 

Most Steelers fans are pleasantly optimistic about the team’s chances in the 2021 season. Though Ben Roethlisberger is just a shade of his former self and doesn’t possess the arm or ability to extend the play that he has in the past, this is a team who sold out to bring as many pieces back for the upcoming season as possible.

However, not everybody sees it this way. Recently, FS1 and Fox Sports Radio personality, Colin Cowherd, had some predictions for the Steelers upcoming season, and he was vocal about why he doesn’t think they are going to be any good in 2021.

In his record prediction, Cowherd has Pittsburgh going 8-9 (with the new 17-game schedule) and finishing 3rd in the AFC North this year behind the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. This wouldn’t be the first time the prominent sports analyst predicted the Steelers to have a losing record. He did so just last season – claiming that the Steelers would go 7-9. Here’s what he had to say regarding their chances in 2021:

"I have the Pittsburgh Steelers as a sub-.500 team in third place. And 8 wins, I think, considering the state of their o-line, is being gracious. That’s an 8-9 football team."

Cowherd later goes on to say that Cleveland and Baltimore are ‘easily the two best teams in the division.’ He also voiced that Pittsburgh has its worst offensive line in years and that they haven’t been able to run the football since Le’Veon Bell left.

Is Cowherd’s record prediction for Steelers fair?

We all know that Colin Cowherd is no stranger to hot takes, but is this one of them? I have no issue with reasonably-minded fans and analysts predicting that the Ravens and/or Browns could have a better record than the Steelers in 2021. If we are being honest with ourselves, both of those teams have very strong rosters with good coaching.

So what does this mean for the Steelers? Personally, I can see them finishing anywhere from first to third in the AFC North this year. After the NFL schedule release, I initially predicted Pittsburgh going 9-8 in 2021. I don’t say that to be negative, but Pittsburgh has statistically the hardest schedule in the league this season based on record strength from 2020.

Certainly, there is a pathway for the team to finish with double-digit wins this year, but I’m not sure how likely that is. Yes, this is a team that started with a franchise-best 11-0 record in 2020, but we can’t forget that they also played a record number of backup quarterbacks last season as well.

On paper, the Steelers still have a pretty good roster. Some positions like running back and tight end could be much improved, but they did lose some talented pieces this year with players like Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton, Steven Nelson, Alejandro Villanueva, and David DeCastro.

Though I may not agree with Colin Cowherd’s reasoning for his prediction or the extent to which he seems to be down on the Steelers, I can’t say that it’s completely off-base having Pittsburgh fall just below Baltimore and Cleveland with a record barely under .500. Let’s hope that he’s wrong.