For the Pittsburgh Steelers to have any hope of competing for the AFC North title this year, they need to come out of the gate swinging. Mike Tomlin's team will face a brutal stretch of games in the second half of the season that includes opponents like the LA Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and the Baltimore Ravens twice. But the latest prediction suggests Pittsburgh will start slow.
Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated recently predicted all 272 regular-season games in the NFL in 2025. When he broke down the Steelers' schedule, he had Pittsburgh opening the season with three straight losses.
This streak of miserable play includes falling short to the Jets on the road, the Seahawks at home, and the Patriots in New England before finally snapping their losing streak overseas in Ireland for their international game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Exiting their concerningly early Week 5 bye, Orr has the Steelers with just a 1-3 record before things really start to heat up. Though Orr has Pittsburgh fighting back into the hunt with a 9-8 record by the end of the season, his predictions have Tomlin's team finishing third in the AFC North and missing the playoffs.
This would prove to be a colossal disappointment for a team doing everything in its power to snap an eight-year drought without a playoff win. Fortunately, there's reason to believe that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be better in 2025 than SI predicts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should outperform early expectations during the 2025 season
It's a different year, but the same old story: NFL writers, analysts, and oddsmakers have the Steelers doing enough to keep their head above water but falling short where it matters most. To be fair, this has largely been the result of practically every season since the late years of Ben Roethlisberger. However, there's reason to believe that will finally change in 2025.
Last year, the Steelers were able to scrounge up a 10-win season and a playoff berth despite subpar quarterback play from Russell Wilson and even with T.J. Watt going quiet down the stretch. With Aaron Rodgers in town, Pittsburgh should see an upgrade at the most important position in football.
Meanwhile, the Steelers' roster is looking much better on paper than it did this time last year. Departing from the team are players like Minkah Fitzpatrick, George Pickens, Russell Wilson, Dan Moore Jr., Najee Harris, and Donte Jackson. But their additions grossly outweigh their mostly meaningless losses.
Joining the team this year—in addition to Rodgers—are players like Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, DK Metcalf, Derrick Harmon, Juan Thornhill, and Kaleb Johnson. Tomlin recently said he believes his new-look defense could do 'historic' things in 2025, and they've got the talent on paper.
The Steelers typically start the season strong, and going against the Jets, Seahawks, and Patriots to begin the year is hardly a daunting task. It's much more likely that the Steelers are 2-1 than 0-3 entering Week 4, so take this prediction with a grain of salt.