It has never happened in his 17 seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, but many believe that a losing season is coming in 2024 for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers due to a brutal schedule.
That includes CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco.
Appearing on CBS Sports HQ Thursday to discuss the NFL schedule for all four AFC North teams, Prisco stated that he believes Tomlin will have his first losing season, going 7-10 on the year.
“Yeah, I don’t think they’re gonna be very good. I think they’re gonna win seven games, and I think when you look at Russell Wilson, I don’t think he’s any good anymore. I’ll be honest with you, I think his best years are behind him,” Prisco said, according to video via CBS Sports’ YouTube page. “It wouldn’t surprise me at some point if Justin Fields took over as the starter on this team. I think they’re gonna struggle throwing the football much like they have for the last couple years. I do.”
Yes, the schedule is tough for the Steelers this season. That was well-known even before the release of the schedule based on the opponents the Steelers were set to face, which was known immediately after the end of the 2023 regular season.
This shouldn’t be all that much of a surprise.
What is a surprise though is the gauntlet the Steelers have to go through in Week 11-18, playing all six AFC North matchups, making a road trip to Philadelphia and hosting a Christmas Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
They’ll need to be firing on all cylinders entering that gauntlet with all the kinks worked out with the new players on the roster.
Prisco doesn’t believe they’ll be able to do that with Wilson, which could see Fields step into the fold under center for the Steelers at some point this season.
Wilson’s best years very well may be behind him. He put together a Hall of Fame resume in the early portion of his career. He’s 35 now and coming off of a tough two seasons in Denver, though he did throw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions last season before being benched by Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Nobody is expecting Wilson to come in and be the early Seattle days Wilson, one of the best quarterbacks in football. What is expected is for him to be an upgrade on what the Steelers had at the position the last few seasons. It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch that he will be.
But Prisco isn’t buying it with Wilson. To be fair, he’s never been a believer in Wilson, even during his best years.
What Prisco does see though is the Steelers’ offensive line fixing itself this season, a strong defense being even better, too. But it will be derailed, in his eyes, by the quarterback play and a tough schedule, particularly in the AFC North.
“I just don’t see the same guy [Wilson] anymore. They’re gonna be more physical eventually as they get that offensive line worked out, and they are gonna get the offensive line worked out,” Prisco added regarding the Steelers. “They had a good draft as it relates to that. It might take a little time and they are in the best division. They’ll be good on defense. They had bad linebackers last year. Struggled on defense last year.
“They’ll be better on defense this time around. But I still think they’re in a tough division. Seven wins.”
The Steelers invested heavily in the offense line in the 2024 NFL Draft, landing Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick up front with three of the first five picks. Both Fautanu and Frazier should start right away, strengthening the offensive line in a major way.
Pittsburgh had a great draft, one that Prisco gave an ‘A’ grade.
He seemingly likes the roster overall and the moves they’ve made this offseason. But he can’t seem to get past the Wilson conversation from a personal point of view.
