For the first time in a long time — maybe ever — all four teams in the AFC North are legitimate powers within a loaded AFC overall.
Cincinnati remains the favorite with Baltimore right behind. Cleveland is getting a lot of offseason love (again) while Pittsburgh is quietly chugging along, looking like a formidable team that many are starting to come around on.
Making the playoffs coming out of the AFC North is going to be quite the test. Winning the North will be a massive test, too. No team has ever won the AFC North three years in a row, which is something the Bengals are vying to do.
Doing so will be difficult, especially with the Steelers trying to get back to the top of the AFC North mountain for the first time since 2020. To do that in a loaded division, Pittsburgh is going to have to lean on its star-studded defense and fit that Pittsburgh Steelers identity, according to Good Morning Football’s Jason McCourty.
In a segment asking what the Steelers need to do to rule the AFC North again, McCourty said it’s all about the defense, which can help make the Steelers a special team this year.
“When I think about Pittsburgh Steelers teams, what comes to mind is Dick LeBeau and great defenses, Troy Polamalu, those guys; James Harrison setting the tempo, running around and being physical. And this year these Pittsburgh Steelers, they have stars of themselves,” McCourty said, according to video via GMFB on Twitter. “You have T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick; these guys go out there and they ball and they play well. … You’re going to need this defense flying around making plays and taking the ball away. And they did that at the end of the season last year. They put up some great numbers and were playing some really good football.
“… This Pittsburgh Steelers team is really good. Mike Tomlin never has a losing record and he has his team always competing. So this is a team to me led by their defense can go out there and be special this year.”
Throughout the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defense has largely led the way, especially when it comes to the six Super Bowl trophies on display at Acrisure Stadium in the Great Hall. If Pittsburgh wants to get back to that in 2023, it will have to be with the defense leading the charge, like McCourty said.
Names like Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick, along with Alex Highsmith, Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Jr., Cole Holcomb and Larry Ogunjobi are going to need to stay healthy and come up big for Pittsburgh defensively, allowing the Steelers to play the old-school style that they are seemingly aiming for, which is running the football, controlling the ball and the clock, and winning low-scoring games.
That’s not to say the offense can’t put up points. Even though they scored just 18.1 points per game last season, on paper Pittsburgh looks loaded with a rebuilt offensive line, quarterback Kenny Pickett ready for a Year-Two leap, and a number of weapons around him with great talent and experience.
For Good Morning Football’s Kyle Brandt, the things on paper don’t matter when it comes to picking the Steelers to go to the playoffs. It’s their history and overall consistency, along with the man in charge in Tomlin.
“I am predicting the Pittsburgh Steelers to be in the playoffs this year,” Brandt said, according to video via Good Morning Football on Twitter. “… They’re not an under-the-radar team. They fit the bill because they weren’t in the playoffs last year, and they don’t have a really experienced quarterback and there’s other good teams in their division; that’s fine. But you look at the logo and you look at those three beautiful starburst things and that trumps any of that. They are different. They’re not just a team, they are an organization.
“… They’ve been to the playoffs seven of the last 10 years; they haven’t had a losing record in 20 years. …Just trust the Steelers. There’s like three teams in the league you just trust. You trust what they’re doing, that they have a bedrock organization; they’re going to run, going to play defense; it’s not going to be pretty, but they’ll get the wins.”
Good on Brandt going out on a limb there. It feels like many within the national media are hyping up the Steelers as some sort of under-the-radar team, but like Brandt says in the clip above, when it comes time to picking the playoff teams in the AFC, those same media members aren’t including the Steelers in the playoff picture.
Though Pickett is entering just his first full season as the unquestioned starter, and concerns remain about offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s abilities to call a competent, NFL-level offense, Brandt puts immense trust and respect in the Steelers organization, believing in its consistency year after year.
With an experienced defense featuring stars at all three levels, an elite-level head coach who does nothing but churn out wins year after year, and an offense featuring some intriguing young pieces that fit together well, 2023 could be a really special season for the Steelers, assuming health and overall positive development for key pieces.
Should that happen, the Steelers will find themselves right back in the discussion of the high-level Super Bowl contenders once again — where they historically belong.
