The NFL season is quickly approaching and after a great preseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers, more and more people are publicly announcing their belief in the Steelers. Yesterday, Joy Taylor of FS1 joined the Steelers bandwagon and stated that if any team slips up in the AFC North, Pittsburgh can win the division.
Taylor spoke highly of QB Kenny Pickett and explained that his improvement in addition to the pieces on defense and strong culture makes them a scary team.
“He [Pickett] got better as the season went on,” Taylor said on Speak on FS1, a clip of which was posted to YouTube. He struggled a little bit in the beginning, as rookies tend to do, and then he improved. Imagine the improvement you’re going to see with an entire offseason. This isn’t a team that lays down, as you mentioned they have great pieces defensively, they’re coached well, they have a culture of winning…It’s a long season there is no reason why the Steelers won’t be right there in the mix.”
The NFL is a quarterback league and for Pittsburgh to win the division they need Pickett to continue to improve. Last year, he threw for 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. However post bye week in Week Nine, Pickett threw five touchdowns and only one interception. He has already shown improvement, he just needs to take take the next step.
What is good news for the Steelers and Pickett is that even if he only takes a small step, Pittsburgh should still be a playoff team. The Steelers have their best roster in a while and when the defense is fully healthy they have the ability to shut down almost any team. When superstar outside linebacker T.J. Watt played last season, Pittsburgh allowed only 16.9 points per game which is elite. Throw in having one of the best head coaches in the NFL in Mike Tomlin and the Steelers certainly seem ready to make the leap.
What makes Pittsburgh really ready to make a leap is how they fought last year. After starting the season 2-6 it would have been easy for the team to lay over and coast the rest of the season. But as Taylor referenced, they didn’t lay down. Instead, the Steelers won seven of their last nine and were in playoff contention come Week 18. That fight and adversity Pittsburgh went through last year built character, and now with that never-give-up, hard-nosed character the Steelers know what it takes to win.
However, the AFC North is projected to be one of the strongest divisions in football. All four teams are capable of making the playoffs, and the Cincinnati Bengals are perennial Super Bowl contenders at this point. But despite this Taylor thinks the division is right for the taking if any of the favorites even slightly slip up.
“So if anybody slips, at any moment, you would not be surprised if the Steelers won the division,” said Taylor.
Despite a great preseason, it is only preseason. The Steelers need to perform when it matters, but they look poised to do so. It seems Pickett is going to take a huge preseason leap if his preseason stats of 13/15, 199 yards, and two touchdowns have anything to say. An improvement from him and a healthy defense spells danger not only for the AFC North, but also for the rest of the conference. As Joy Taylor said, if any team slips up, watch out cause Pittsburgh can steal the division.
