The Pittsburgh Steelers got better this offseason. At least in key areas, none more critical than quarterback, where they should have something resembling a professional passing offense for the first time in years. But the rest of the AFC didn’t just sit idly by. Other teams got more aggressive and cemented themselves into the Tier 1 of AFC squads. Pittsburgh isn’t there. Not yet, anyway.
The Houston Texans capped an already impressive offseason by reportedly landing WR Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills. An already promising Houston roster looks even more stacked with Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Diggs at receiver, not to mention Dalton Schultz at tight end. Of course, it’s all led by C.J. Stroud at quarterback, Houston striking gold with last year’s second overall pick and benefitting from the cost-effectiveness of his rookie deal.
There might not be a team that has enjoyed a better offseason than Houston. It’s not just offensive additions, though others like RB Joe Mixon will improve a run game that was stagnant in 2023. Defensively, they loaded up along their front with the overlooked Denico Autry at defensive tackle and the truly underrated Danielle Hunter at defensive end, giving them a top pass-rush pairing of him and Will Anderson. If you want a true picture of an aggressive, all-in mindset, Houston is the model.
They’re now not just AFC South favorites. They’re AFC contenders. Crowning them as the Super Bowl favorite from their conference might be a touch strong. But it’s not unreasonable. On paper, there’s nothing to suggest they can’t compete with the AFC’s top clubs. They have playoff experience, blowing out the Cleveland Browns in last year’s Wild Card game and learning the painful but key lessons in their loss to Baltimore the following week.
But this isn’t Texans Depot. For the Steelers, they’re moving in the right direction. But their overall roster still comes with tons of questions, and they’re not strapped by the sins of paying a quarterback good money. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields make up the cheapest quarterback room you’re going to find, and navigating the offseason to land both were shrewd and impressive moves by Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin, and the Steelers organization. With a productive draft class, they’re now “playoff win” contenders. They can snap that dastardly seven-year streak of zero postseason wins. But anything beyond that? They’re not in that camp.
On paper, you can argue they’re the eighth-best team in the AFC right now. And even though they might be equipped to win in the playoffs, who are the teams they could face? Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, Buffalo, Kansas City. Pittsburgh could reasonably be considered underdogs to any of those opponents, especially if it is the road team.
The Bills are a worse team post-Diggs, but they had been using him in their offense less and less. Josh Allen still schooled the Steelers on a day where Diggs only caught short passes, finishing with seven grabs for 52 yards. And the Bills will reload at receiver in an absolutely stacked draft class. They have Josh Allen, they’re going to still hang around. What if Pittsburgh faces Houston in the Wild Card round? The same Texans team that blew the doors off Pittsburgh in 2023 is a much stronger-looking team in a potential rematch.
The Steelers must prove they can win a playoff game and not go down the same path as their other defeats, putting themselves in a big hole early and forced to climb out of it the rest of the game.
Pittsburgh looks like a better team than a year ago. I don’t want to lose sight of that. But they Steelers are not Super Bowl contenders. They’ve inched forward while others are sprinting ahead. And they’re stuck in an AFC with a slew of teams equipped with franchise quarterbacks who will keep their clubs in that spot for years to come.
