The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers make the playoffs?
The Steelers will play their final game of the 2023 regular season on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens. But will that be their last game until they suit up for preseason action in August? Right now, estimates give them about a 25 percent chance to make it depending on who you ask.
There are a few different scenarios that would result in the Steelers advancing, either as the sixth seed or as the seventh. One path to the playoffs for them even involves losing if they get three other games to break in their favor, none of which are outlandish individually.
Obviously, winning helps a lot, and the Ravens, arguably the best team in the league, have locked up home-field advantage. Not only are they dealing with a number of injuries, they will want to ensure that QB Lamar Jackson makes it to the postseason healthy after ending the past two years injured. That will make it a lot easier to win.
Almost every other scenario requires the Jacksonville Jaguars to lose to the Tennessee Titans, or the Buffalo Bills to lose to the Miami Dolphins, or both. The Bills have been hot while the Dolphins are banged up and just lost another pass rusher, but are still a very good team. Jacksonville has been heading in the wrong direction as well even if its trouncing of the Carolina Panthers without QB Trevor Lawrence bought Carolina owner David Tepper a $300,000 beverage.
Basically the only way the Steelers don’t get into the playoffs if they win is if both the Jaguars and the Bills win because it would result in Pittsburgh being in a head-to-head tiebreaker situation with a team it lost to (either the Colts or Texans, assuming they don’t tie each other, which would be just as bad).
So if you think the Steelers can beat a Ravens team almost undoubtedly resting starters and either the Dolphins can beat the Bills or the Titans can beat the Jaguars, then you should feel pretty decently about their chances.
