Brace yourselves, predictions season is upon us.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr got out in front of predictions season on Thursday morning, releasing his annual 100 Bold Predictions piece ahead of the NFL season. This year, Orr had two Pittsburgh Steelers-centric predictions.
One could be categorized as bold, while the other one…well, not so much.
Orr predicts that Steelers quarterback Justin Fields will score five touchdowns in 2024 as a non-quarterback. He also predicted that star outside linebacker T.J. Watt will win the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
With the Fields prediction, it’s quite simple where Orr is coming from. The Steelers are going to lean into the two-QB system to try and utilize Fields’ skill sets in unique ways under head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, potentially leading to some success for Fields.
“The old axiom has long been that if your team claims to have two quarterbacks, it really has none. I think this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers could legitimately buck that trend,” Orr writes. “I love the idea of keeping an opponent in suspense much the way the Jets tried to do with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow (though they failed horribly). There really and truly is a finite amount of time a team has to prepare for its opponents, and not knowing which quarterback will walk out onto the field at any given moment could be a disaster for defenses.
“We saw this when the 49ers started introducing Colin Kaepernick into their offensive scheme during the Jim Harbaugh era. All that said, I think one of the Steelers’ more successful packages will be with Fields and Wilson on the field at the same time.”
.@ConorOrr’s 100 bold predictions for 2024:
🔮 A surprise team wins 8 straight
🔮 A HOFer unretires
🔮 Fate of some rookie QBs
🔮 A two-QB system that works
🔮 Tom Brady, Deion Sanders and Miley Cyrus
🔮 And a Super Bowl LIX pickhttps://t.co/cFGDWTUuY3— The MMQB (@theMMQB) June 20, 2024
The possibility of a package featuring both Fields and Russell Wilson on the field at the same time is certainly exciting to think about, especially given Fields’ rushing abilities, though it’s not exactly something head coach Mike Tomlin likes to do.
He has a 1,000-yard rushing season in the NFL already and has rushed for more than 2,000 yards in the NFL as a dual-threat quarterback in just four seasons. Though he still needs to take steps forward as a passer, there is no denying just how dynamic he is as a runner.
The Steelers should try to exploit that under Smith. It can be difficult and potentially hinder an offense rotating quarterbacks, but Fields isn’t the type of talent at the position that you just keep plastered to the bench. He has to be utilized in creative ways. Hopefully the Steelers do that, and if they do it properly it could lead to five touchdowns scored as a non-quarterback like Orr predicts.
As for his other Steelers prediction, Orr sees Watt winning his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, one year after being robbed of his second by Cleveland’s Myles Garrett.
Ahead of the 2024 season, it seems like there is a public push for Dallas EDGE Micah Parsons to win his first, which likely won’t slow down anytime soon. But Orr sees Watt winning the award for the second time, cementing his Hall of Fame career.
“With more stability at the quarterback position, the Steelers will be playing ahead more often than not, despite an absolutely absurd and rigorous back-end schedule that has them taking on all of their division rivals in the final weeks of the year,” Orr writes regarding Watt. “The AFC North remains the best division in football because of its stockpile of finalists for the award.”
The reasoning behind why Watt will win the DPOY award is sound.
With Wilson and Fields both in the fold, providing upgrades at quarterback for the Black and Gold, and Smith providing stability and functionality as the offensive coordinator, the Steelers should be playing ahead more in games. That in turn will allow guys like Watt and Alex Highsmith to pin their ears back and get after opposing quarterbacks late in games.
That could lead to some impressive sack numbers, which theoretically help Watt in his push to win the award again. But even after leading the NFL in sacks with 19.0 last season, that wasn’t enough.
It’s something Watt has asked for more clarity on when it comes to what voters are looking for with the award. It doesn’t appear that he’s received that clarity, but he’s entering the 2024 season with a massive chip on his shoulder, which could lead to a monster season for the star pass rusher.
