Would most Steelers fans believe that this team will win the Super Bowl this upcoming season?
Probably not, unless you are a die-hard yinzers who thinks every year is our year or are in the camp of owner Art Rooney II who wants to field a roster to compete for a championship every season, even if the roster is borderline worthy of making a wildcard playoff spot.
Still, Pittsburgh did nearly make the playoffs after getting on a roll to close out the 2022 season, finishing 7-2 while relying on a tough running game, stingy defense, and rookie QB Kenny Pickett coming up in the clutch on a couple of occasions in the fourth quarter of pivotal games.
However, Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports recently published a piece highlighting every NFL team’s Super Bowl odds for the upcoming season via Caesars Sportsbook. The Kansas City Chiefs expectedly sit atop of the rankings with +600 odds to win a second-consecutive Lombardi Trophy, but you have to scroll a ways down the list to find the Pittsburgh Steelers sitting at +6000 odds to win it all in 2023.
The Steelers sit tied for 21st in the overall odds rankings in the league, sharing the same odds as the New England Patriots who also missed the playoffs last season. Ahead of Pittsburgh are the Chicago Bears who held the #1 overall pick last season before trading it to the Carolina Panthers, finishing with the worst record in the league in 2022. Along with the Bears are the Raiders and Broncos who each had their own collapses last season in the AFC West along with the Baltimore Ravens with +2200 odds and the Cleveland Browns with +3500 odds, joining the Cincinnati Bengals as all the other AFC North teams ahead of Pittsburgh.
The Steelers probably shouldn’t be considered a top ten contender for the Super Bowl this coming season, but their odds relative to several of the teams listed ahead of them can be considered disrespectful. Pittsburgh finished with a 9-8 record last year, nearly making the playoffs and improved at nearly every spot during the offseason. They won clutch games against the Ravens and Raiders down the stretch and handled the Browns convincingly at home in the season finale.
It may make sense to rank QBs Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson ahead of Kenny Pickett at this stage of his NFL career, but the proof is in the pudding as Pittsburgh played winning football down the stretch unlike several teams ranked ahead of them that faded when the games mattered most. Pittsburgh has been an underrated team that some analysts have said not to sleep on this coming season, but these Super Bowl odds suggest Vegas doesn’t believe Pittsburgh can make that leap in 2023. We will soon find out if the Steelers are up for the task with the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers just a couple months away.
