Making playoffs predictions this time of year can be a fool’s errand. Peter Schrager, for example, has the New York Jets as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The hype for the Jets was high last year, and then Aaron Rodgers exited the game in Week 1 with a torn Achilles.
They are still fun to make and fun to reflect on later in the process to see how right (or wrong) you were.
NFL Network’s Good Morning Football panelists made their playoff predictions today, and Kyle Brandt was the lone one to pick the Steelers.
“Certain things you just believe in. Certain things you just dedicate your life to,” Brandt said. “And my life from here on will be dedicated to this team going to the playoffs. I’m going with the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
In a moment of self-doubt, Brandt brought up the quarterback situation, which he admitted he is worried about with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
“I will never not be screaming this team’s name when it comes to playoff pick time…It’s a Steelers organizational thing. I don’t care who their quarterback is. If that logo is there and that coach is there, I will put them in the playoffs. They will find a way.”
This means he would have the Steelers as the second seed in the AFC North behind the Baltimore Ravens. He is notably leaving out Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals as well as the Cleveland Browns, who made the playoffs last year.
His faith in the Steelers has been well earned. While they haven’t won playoff games since the 2016 season, they have qualified four times since then, including last year with Kenny Pickett, Matt Canada, and a bunch of injuries on defense.
If you look around the roster for the 2024 version of the Steelers, they improved at several positions. Now it is just a matter of everything jelling with the lack of continuity in several areas.
That being said, there are external factors that will be much more challenging than last year. They probably won’t face as many backup quarterbacks as they did in 2023, for example. And the schedule itself is much more difficult, with some calling it the hardest in the league.
