Even with Russell Wilson unlikely to start against his former team, Mark Schlereth is still needling the Pittsburgh Steelers every chance he gets. Openly criticizing Wilson throughout the offseason, Schlereth believes the Denver Broncos will win in a big way this Sunday, proving they were right to move on from Wilson.
Making their picks for FOX Sports’ new show Breakfast Ball, best known as background noise at your local airport, Schlereth said this game won’t be close.
“Broncos by two touchdowns,” he told co-host Danny Parkins.
Denver is looking for its first win of the year and to bounce back after a tough offensive showing last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. QB Bo Nix was overwhelmed in his first NFL start, under constant pressure and without a running game to give him support. Denver finished the game with just 231 total yards of offense in a 26-20 defeat in which four of the Broncos’ points came by way of safeties, the first defense since 2017 to record two of them in a game. Denver didn’t find the end zone until the final two minutes, Nix doing it himself on a short rushing score.
Considering the strength of the Broncos and Steelers are their defenses, it’s hard to see this game being so lopsided. That would require Pittsburgh to play a sloppy game and lose the turnover battle. Consistently playing tight games, the Steelers haven’t lost a game by multiple touchdowns since Week 13 of last year.
Though Pittsburgh has historically struggled playing in Denver, Parkins made a strong case for the Steelers.
“I’ve watched Mike Tomlin overachieve and his defense be incredible,” he said. “And when he gets a rookie quarterback, rookie quarterbacks do not well against that defense: 6-25. They get sacked, they are not efficient. They barely complete 50 percent of their passes…I love the Steelers.”
A pair of rookie quarterbacks bested Pittsburgh last year, Houston’s C.J. Stroud dominating while Cleveland’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson did just enough, but the Steelers’ overall track record is strong against newcomers. With a healthy defense that swarmed the Atlanta Falcons last week, it’s hard to see this game getting lopsided. Presented with that information, Mark Schlereth admitted it was a rational thought.
“I hate the fact you bring all kinds of facts and statistics and knowledge to the program,” he said. “You need to stop that right now.”
Said in jest, to be clear, but an embodiment of morning sports talk shows and the axe Schlereth has grinded against Wilson and, by extension, the Steelers, all offseason.
