The 2023 NFL season is finally here as it kicks off Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions on NBC. As I do every year at this same time, below are my final regular season records and playoff predictions for the upcoming season with the main focus being on the Pittsburgh Steelers. But first, have a little fun by looking at my predictions from last season at this same time.
Yikes, I had the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl last year after they won it all the season before. They ended up going 5-12 in 2022. About the only thing I can hang my hat on from last season is that I had 8 teams make the playoffs of the 14 that actually did. That’s not overly impressive, however.
Ok, there’s my wound licking. Let’s get on with my 2023 thoughts.
So, what do I think about the 2023 Steelers? Well, I am certainly a lot more bullish on them in 2023 than I was a year ago at this same time. I had the 2022 Steelers going 8-9 last season and they beat that by one game at 9-8. It wasn’t looking great during the first half of the season, but head coach Mike Tomlin was able to rally the team to a 7-2 record after the bye week.
Obviously, then-rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett was the starter for all but one of those games last season after he took over midway through Week Four. He made notable progress in the final several games and even delivered a few game-winning drives to boot.
After winning nine games in 2022 with the squad that the Steelers had, I don’t see how anyone can’t think that the 2023 team won’t be able to improve on that in 2023. General manager Omar Khan did a masterful job this past offseason and the end result of his efforts is the Steelers having a better-quality and much deeper team than a year ago. On both sides of football as well. This is a good-looking team, and several members of the 2023 draft class should contribute more and more by the week. Heck, all healthy draft picks even made the 53-man roster this year and injured CB Cory Trice Jr. probably would have as well had he not sustained his knee injury.
Now, as loaded as this 2023 Steelers team appears to be on paper, they still play in a very tough AFC North division. Additionally, the AFC seems to be much stronger than the NFC with the 2023 season about to get underway. One of the five NFC teams the Steelers will face in 2023 is the San Francisco 49ers and that meeting takes place in Week One. It will be quite an early measuring stick for the 2023 team.
Overall, the Steelers 2023 schedule is set up nicely. In fact, I have the team going 5-1 in their first six games with their lone loss coming Sunday against the 49ers. That said, I have picked against the Steelers in Week One in each of the last two seasons and they wound up winning both of those games. Despite me picking them to lose to the 49ers on Sunday, I don’t think many will be surprised to see them come away with the W. It’s very plausible.
The biggest hiccup I see with the 2023 Steelers is related to their six AFC North games. Those games are always very important, and this year is no different. I have them splitting with all three teams in 2023 to go 3-3 in AFC North play. If they beat that 3-3 prediction, look out as they might just win the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals should be tough again in 2023 and I have them ultimately winning the AFC North. I have the Steelers finishing second in the AFC North with a record of 11-6, which is two games better than 2022. 5-3 on the road and 6-3 at home is my prediction.
As for the playoffs, I have the Steelers beating the Buffalo Bills on the road as the seventh seed in Wild Card Round action. I then have them losing to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round. While I obviously don’t have the Steelers winning the Super Bowl this season, I think we will come away from the 2023 season knowing that the window to winning more championships is open for several years to come. I expect Pickett to make that kind of growth in 2023.
I ultimately have the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Bengals in Super Bowl 58, but none of you reading this likely care about that.
Personally, I will view the 2023 season as being a disappointment for the Steelers if they don’t win at least one playoff game. This team should be good enough to at least do that. Depending on how seeding plays out, I don’t think two playoff wins is entirely out of the question.
Once again, I think this is a well-put-together 2023 Steelers team. Even so, I think next season is when I can see myself predicting a possible Super Bowl championship.
Enjoy the 2023 season and let me know your predictions for the 2023 Steelers and the rest of the NFL in the comments below. Thank you for reading.
| 2023 NFL PREDICTED FINAL STANDINGS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE | |||
| AFC East | W | L | T |
| Buffalo Bills | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| New York Jets | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| New England Patriots | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| AFC North | W | L | T |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| AFC South | W | L | T |
| Tennessee Titans | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| Houston Texans | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| AFC West | W | L | T |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| Denver Broncos | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE | |||
| NFC East | W | L | T |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Washington Commanders | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| NFC North | W | L | T |
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| NFC South | W | L | T |
| New Orleans Saints | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| Carolina Panthers | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| NFC West | W | L | T |
| San Francisco 49ers | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2 | 15 | 0 |
NFC WILD CARD ROUND
Lions beat Saints
Cowboys beat Vikings
Eagles beat Seahawks
NFC DIVISIONAL ROUND
Eagles beat Lions
49ers beat Cowboys
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Eagles beat 49ers
AFC WILD CARD ROUND
Bengals beat Chargers
Jets beat Titans
Steelers beat Bills
AFC DIVISIONAL ROUND
Bengals beat Jets
Chiefs beat Steelers
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Bengals beat Chiefs
SUPER BOWL 58
Eagles beat Bengals
