For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have fought an uphill battle to stay relevant in the AFC. One analyst thinks 2025 is the year that the bottom falls out. Sharing his thoughts on the Steelers’ upcoming prospects, analyst Tyler Dunne thinks winning will be tough to do.
“I don’t know, man,” Dunne said during a live stream video on his Go Long Substack. “I can’t see the Steelers winning in 2025. Not with Joe Burrow back in Cincinnati and Cincinnati’s defense can’t be worse. Not with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens returning.”
The Steelers have failed to win the AFC North since 2020, their longest drought in decades. They’ve remained competitive in the division and have performed better than the Ravens or Bengals against the North. But the Ravens are the division’s Super Bowl contender while the Bengals have more immediate pieces, primarily a quarterback, to get back into contention. One strong draft haul and Cincinnati’s defense could receive the upgrades needed to round out the roster.
Dunne compared Pittsburgh to the Atlanta Falcons – teams spending too much time messing around with veteran quarterbacks and franchises who lacked coherent plans after losing their long-term starter. The Steelers from Ben Roethlisberger, the Falcons from Matt Ryan. Atlanta has hopefully settled on their future in Michael Penix Jr., vindicated after being criticized for selecting him eighth overall a year ago. Pittsburgh remains on the hunt.
The 2025 quarterback class isn’t one of the decade’s strongest, but Dunne says the Steelers must explore all options.
“There could be somebody hidden in this year’s class that is everything the Steelers need,” he said. “And they’ve got to hit, or they’ve got no shot.”
Seemingly impervious to a terrible year, the Steelers probably won’t be as uncompetitive as Dunne’s suggestion. True to form with a defense still a strength and offense likely no worse than a season ago, they’ll be in the 8-10 win range. Competing beyond that will again be a challenge. The Steelers have turned over their roster but may not have made the sweeping changes to transform their status as a wholly average AFC team.
