Though Colin Cowherd’s taken swipes at the Pittsburgh Steelers for their old-school, defense-first mentality, he evidently likes the roster the team is building. During his Friday episode of The Herd, Cowherd said the Steelers are the second playoff team in the AFC North, not the Baltimore Ravens.
Cowherd made his summer playoff predictions and though the graphic includes the Ravens over the Steelers, he says he was talked into a last-second switch to the Steelers for three reasons. The first having to do with T.J. Watt.
“If T.J. Watt plays, they win,” he said. “Last year, 8-2 when T.J. Watt played. Last two years, 17-7 when he plays. He’s healthy. He plays, they win.”
There has been a ridiculously clear correlation between Watt’s availability and the Steelers’ success. Even more so than quarterbacks, when Watt is able to suit up, Pittsburgh’s pass rush is fierce and they compete and win. After Watt was lost in Week One due to a torn pec, the Steelers’ defense went into a shell, losing all semblance of a pass rush. Not coincidentally, the team looked like one of the league’s worst heading into the bye.
Watt returned following the off week and the Steelers’ fortunes immediately changed. The pass rush was revived, and while not quite as strong as some other years, a seven-sack performance in the regular-season finale ended things on a high note. But Pittsburgh won, going on a 7-2 tear down the stretch to nearly make the playoffs, eliminated in the final moments of their season after the Miami Dolphins held off the Joe Flacco-led New York Jets.
Cowherd’s second point had a similar track to his first.
“Their top seven or eight players don’t get hurt much,” he said. “Cameron Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt’s only had one year with injuries. Pat Freiermuth, Najee Harris, Alex Highsmith, Kenny Pickett, they don’t get hurt. They play their chief rival. The Ravens’ top six players outside of Mark Andrews, the tight end, all get hurt.”
Watt aside, Pittsburgh was generally a healthy team last season. Every team deals with injuries and the Steelers had their fair share of guys who played hurt, chiefly Harris who battled a toe injury that didn’t improve until midway through the season. Center Mason Cole was essentially never healthy last year and gutted it out. But Pittsburgh was the only team in the league to have the same five linemen start all 17 games, a rarity in today’s NFL, and its core players largely played out the season.
Compare that to Baltimore, a walking wounded team, and one that’s lost Lamar Jackson down the stretch each of the last two seasons. In 2021, their backfield was ravaged by injuries while they’ve lost big chunks of their o-line and secondary the last two years. Baltimore’s head strength & conditioning coach Steve Saunders was fired and took plenty of criticism from players on his way out the door.
Finally, Cowherd looked at how Pittsburgh closed out last year.
“They finished winning six of seven and four straight,” he said. “Why? Their defense was unbelievable. Last seven opponents, held under 20 points. Combine that with Kenny Pickett, who had some late-game, come-from-behind wins…he’s probably going to get better in Year Two.”
Pittsburgh looked like a new team post-bye with a clearer identity and focus. The Steelers played ball control, didn’t turn the football over (only five giveaways from Week 10 on, tied second-fewest in the NFL) and won low-scoring affairs on the backs of their defense and clutch moments from Pickett.
Cowherd also mentioned the team’s on-paper schedule, which looks lighter than a year ago, facing a handful of rookie or relatively inexperienced quarterbacks like Brock Purdy (assuming he’s healthy) C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, and potentially Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson.
All that led Cowherd to conclude that Pittsburgh is playoff bound.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, not the Baltimore Ravens, as of this morning are a playoff team,” he said.
Though the Steelers missed the postseason a year ago, that generally hasn’t been a problem for the team. Winning in the playoffs have been the issue, failing to register a win there since 2016. Since, it’s been a series of ugly upsets and blowout losses. But buying a lottery ticket is what comes first and Pittsburgh figures to be in the mix all the way until the end.
