Former NFL DE Chris Long recently broke down the AFC on his Green Light podcast, and like many analysts this offseason, he’s initially high on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I love the Steelers,” Long said. “Kenny Pickett looks fucking sensational. They have a really good roster, but you run his preseason tape, a couple of the throws he made against Atlanta were like wow,” he continued. “I think one thing that was really good for them is they won a lot of close games. So you’re in a lot of close games, that’s how this team is going to have to win games. They’ll have to be in phase.”
Long also touted Pittsburgh’s improved offensive line and rookie class, namely DL Keeanu Benton and TE Darnell Washington. While he doesn’t think Pittsburgh will win the AFC North, he thinks they have a chance to fight for a wild card spot in a very difficult AFC.
I think at this point the general consensus has become that the Steelers are a team good enough to make the playoffs, but maybe not quite good enough to become a legitimate contender in the AFC. That’s a fair assessment, at least until we can truly see just how much the Steelers offense has grown outside of a preseason game. If the offense is middling or just barely average, Pittsburgh is still capable of winning 9-10 games, but doing some damage beyond the regular season doesn’t seem all that likely.
If they become a group that can finish in the top 12 or top 10 in the league, then all of a sudden, coupled with a really solid defense, they might be viewed as possible contenders. But Long said the Steelers are going to win a lot of close games, which may be true, but they need to show that they can score a lot more than they did last season.
Their defense is probably just as good, if not better, than last season, so they should still be able to limit opponents. But Pickett is going to have to show that he can help create explosive plays like he did in the preseason and help the Steelers become a higher-scoring offense.
For as much praise as Pittsburgh has gotten from analysts, most don’t have them higher than third in their own division. It speaks to how difficult the AFC North is, but if the Steelers go just 3-3 in divisional games, they should be able to win 10 games. But after years and years of not winning in the playoffs, it sure would be nice if Pittsburgh could get over the hump and make some noise in the postseason this year.
Watch the full episode below:
