With the early phases of the 2023 NFL season being completed and training camp quickly approaching, we have some idea of what we can expect this season. While things can obviously change come preseason and the regular season as of now there is enough information on teams for people to put out a pre-training camp power rankings, and that is exactly what David Latham from Last Word On Sports did.
Among Pittsburgh fans, expectations are high for this year’s team with many expecting the Steelers to continue where they left off last season, winning seven of their last nine games. Latham, though, does not expect Pittsburgh to be a great team this year, despite putting them in the category of “High Ceiling.” Latham ranked the Steelers at No. 17 and said they can sneak into the playoffs.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to play a hard-nosed style of football in a league where rule changes heavily discourage that style of play,” Latham wrote. “Rookies Kenny Pickett and George Pickens showed some life last year, but it’s hard to imagine them ever turning into a duo that could rival [Joe] Burrow and [Ja’Marr] Chase or [Patrick] Mahomes and [Travis] Kelce. Chances are, this team will spend the season fighting for one of the final Wild Card spots.”
It will be an uphill battle for Pittsburgh to come out this season and compete for the top seed in the AFC considering how loaded the conference is, but I don’t think it is out of the question that the Steelers can compete for the AFC North. Last season, Pittsburgh went 3-3 in the AFC North and won one a game against each team while trying to find its identity. The team is now secure in itself as a pound-the-rock team, and even if Latham isn’t a fan of it, it worked as the 2022 season went along. In addition, Pittsburgh’s strength of schedule is weak this season, with opponents’ win percentage in 2022 at a measly 47 percent.
The Steelers have shown their style can win games, and with a weaker schedule if the offense starts to gel and Pickett improves, I think they can win 12 or 13 games and win their division. Obviously staying healthy is paramount, but who predicts injuries going into the season? The Steelers’ offensive skill players are all either approaching or are in their primes, and the Tennessee Titans proved that the ground-and-pound style of offense can work in the modern NFL, as from 2019-2021 the team was a perennial playoff contender, getting to the AFC Championship Game in 2019 and securing the No. 1 seed in 2021.
Pittsburgh missed the playoffs last season, and I am not saying the Steelers should be ranked as a top-five team in the NFL. I will say I think they are a top-15 team and that just because they don’t play an attractive style of play doesn’t mean they can’t win that way. We’ll just have to wait until the regular season to see if I am right or Latham is.
