The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to kick off their 2024 season. After a seven-year drought without a playoff win, Mike Tomlin is hoping for better results this time around, and anything short of a postseason berth with a playoff run feels like a bust.
Finding wins won't come easy this year. The Steelers have one of the most difficult schedules on paper. From Week 11 until the end of the season, Pittsburgh has six daunting matchups against AFC North opponents as well as games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
No matter how many times the Steelers continue to avoid a losing season, oddsmakers believe it's bound to happen again in 2024. So what will Pittsburgh's season look like? Here are my predictions about where they will finish in the division, how many wins they will wind up with, and what their playoff status will look like this year.
Steelers division prediction: 3rd in the AFC North
Pittsburgh is routinely pegged as the oddball team that will finish last place in the division. But until we finally see it happen, there's no reason to expect that will be the case in 2024. While their quarterback situation is shaky at best, Tomlin's roster is noticeably stronger on paper since Omar Khan and Andy Weidl took over the front office.
Much of Pittsburgh's success in 2024 will come on the backs of the defense. T.J. Watt should be his usual self, and he will be aided by an influx of young talent around him -- players like Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig, and Payton Wilson.
Riding the coattails of the defense won't bring Pittsburgh a championship, but it should do enough to avoid a last-place finish in the AFC North.
In 2023, the Steelers astoundingly finished 5-1 in the division. We can't count on the team to replicate this type of success, but a 3-3 finish or better will likely prove to be enough to avoid last place. I have Pittsburgh finishing third in the AFC North in 2024.
Steelers win total prediction: 9 wins
Much like we've come to expect the Steelers to have a non-losing season, we've also come to expect them not to go above and beyond. Mike Tomlin's team has plateaued in recent years and even getting to 10 wins is a milestone they've only accomplished twice in the past six seasons.
Though 10 or 11 wins isn't out of the question, nine wins feels like the safe bet. The Steelers won't have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with teams like the Chiefs or Eagles, but a strong defense will help them beat up mediocre competition.
Steelers playoff prediction: Wild Card seed
In 2023, it took every team in the AFC a minimum of 10 wins to enter the tournament, and it's hard to believe that won't be the case again this year. What's disheartening is the AFC is loaded with roughly a dozen teams capable of earning 10 wins this year, and there are only seven total playoff spots to go around.
If the Steelers don't win their division, this leaves them scrapping for one of three spots as a Wild Card seed. Teams that are expected to make the AFC playoffs include the Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals, Bills, and Texans. From there, the Steelers could be in a heated race with teams like the Jets, Dolphins, and Browns.
Even teams like the Jaguars and Colts finished with nine wins last season, and they could find themselves in one of the most crowded AFC playoff pictures we have ever seen. A single loss to one of the aforementioned competitors could be the dagger for Pittsburgh's playoff chances if it comes down to a tiebreaker to enter the postseason.