The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that many analysts and talking heads are predicting to return to the playoffs this season. Despite being in a loaded conference and division, the moves Pittsburgh has made this offseason, in addition to the way they ended last year, have made many believers. Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark in one of those believers, but acknowledged how tough it will be playing in the AFC North.
Clark was on ESPN’s First Take this morning and said if any head coach and team can fight through the loaded AFC North it is Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.
“Absolutely,” Clark said when asked if the Steelers could make the playoffs. “When you look at what Mike Tomlin has been able to do throughout his tenure, we’ve seen teams overachieve. We’ve seen a team last year finish 9-8 with two comeback wins late in the fourth quarter led by their rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett,” Clark said.
“This team can compete, but I have to be honest when I do my job, it’s gonna be tough as hell in the AFC North. When you look at the quarterbacks in that division, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, they’re gonna have to come to play each and every week. It is the best division in football, but if any team and any coach can find a way to compete, find a way to get into the playoffs, I believe it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin.”
The AFC North certainly is tough and it will be the biggest obstacle in Pittsburgh returning to the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals have made two straight AFC Championship Games and have given the Steelers fits recently, winning four of the last five matchups. However, when looking at the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, the Steelers always play them well even when they are at their worst.
Despite this, those matchups will still be tough and for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs they will likely have to go at least .500 against the AFC North. This is very possible though, despite the talent at quarterback the other teams have. The Steelers always play Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson well and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson is not only a big question mark this year, but doesn’t have great numbers against Pittsburgh, albeit a small sample size.
There are 17 games in the season and if the Steelers take care of their non-divisional opponents that will give them some room for slip-ups in the division. The Steelers’ strength of schedule this year is not very strong thanks to finishing third in the AFC North last season and their opponents had a winning percentage of 47 percent, 25th best, last year.
The path for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs is to dominate their weak schedule and then try and at worst split the AFC North. If they can win eight of their 11 non-divisional games and win three AFC North matchups the Steelers will finish the year with 11 wins. That should be good enough to make the playoffs as a Wild Card at worst and it is very possible given who they play and where they play them.
However, all of this relies on Pittsburgh showing up to play. Tomlin has proven to be a very good coach who can get a lot out of his team, but if quarterback Kenny Pickett doesn’t improve this season it will be difficult for the Steelers to hit 11 wins. He played well down the stretch, but the team needed some magic to win a few of those games. Pickett must play better throughout games to make life easier for the Steelers and to avoid games coming down to final drives.
The Steelers have a really good roster and a really good head coach. Clark is right that this team can find its way into the playoffs given what they have going for them, but they need their players to show up. On paper, Pittsburgh could even compete to win the AFC North, but football isn’t played on paper. The Steelers need their young offensive weapons to take steps this year and their defense to be shut down. If this happens, Pittsburgh will return to playing football into mid-January.
