The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently sitting at 7-2 and have a big opportunity to extend their lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens when the two match up today. Before the season, analyst Adam Schein was negative on the Steelers, predicting them to win eight games and claiming the Pittsburgh Pirates had a better chance to win than the Steelers. On That Other Pregame Show this morning, Schein admitted he was wrong.
“I loved the Steelers offseason. I loved their draft. I thought they would be the tenth-best team in the AFC. Tenth-best team. And I picked the Steelers to win eight games and finish under .500 for the first time under Mike Tomlin. Look, I was wrong,” Schein said. “Russ has been great, Tomlin’s going to the Hall of Fame, this team made a couple of great moves at the deadline. Listen, they survived that schedule, the soft schedule early, and they absolutely thrived. They’ve come back in games. I was dead wrong.”
Pittsburgh’s gotten better than expected play from Russell Wilson, a player Schein and others were down on ahead of the season after two underwhelming seasons with the Denver Broncos. Pittsburgh’s defense has always been stout, but the additions of Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott have helped bolster the unit even further, and the unit is once again one of the best in football. Add in Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator helping improve the run game, and the ingredients are all there to explain why the Steelers have been better than expected this season.
If they can beat the Ravens today, Schein might have to eat some more crow, as he also claimed way back in March that there was “no way” that the Steelers would be better than the Ravens in 2024. Schein isn’t alone in being wrong about the Steelers, and at least he took the time to admit he was wrong and that this team is better than he gave him credit for. In today’s media world, a lot of people will just throw takes out there and not bother backing them up with opinions changing weekly. I always respect when someone goes out of their way to admit they’re wrong.
It’s been an impressive season so far in Pittsburgh, and Wilson will have more of an opportunity to prove some of his doubters wrong today in his first taste of AFC North action. With Baltimore’s pass defense struggling this season, Wilson should have a prime opportunity to launch a few moonballs and try to give the Steelers an edge in their biggest game of the season.
