If you’ve come to this website pre-Week 1 before and seen Bill Barnwell’s name, odds are, he wasn’t saying anything positive about the Pittsburgh Steelers. It became a running joke that Barnwell would have the Steelers in his offseason exercise of teams expected to regress, but in 2025, he thinks the Steelers could be a playoff team. In his playoff predictions, Barnwell has Pittsburgh making the postseason as a wild-card team.
While he’s not confident about the selection, Barnwell believes that the Steelers’ 2024 performance is “more sustainable” than some of their past season playoff appearances, specifically citing the Steelers winning the turnover battle in 12 of their 17 games. With Aaron Rodgers under center, Barnwell believes that he’ll help the team continue to do so.
“Over his final 10 games in 2024, Rodgers threw 18 touchdowns against four picks; I wouldn’t count on him to win many shootouts this season, but the Steelers just need the veteran to protect the football. That’s one of the few strengths left in his game,” he wrote.
Barnwell also believes Pittsburgh’s run game could get going if the offensive line stays healthy, leading to the Steelers making the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the AFC.
It’s not far-fetched to think the Steelers will be a playoff team, despite a tough AFC North. Barnwell has three AFC North teams making the playoffs, with the Ravens winning the division and the Steelers and Bengals both earning wild-card spots. None of those three teams are making it to the Super Bowl in his predictions, as he has the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Green Bay Packers.
The Steelers’ offense should be better, given the additions of Rodgers, DK Metcalf and Jonnu Smith. The Steelers improved their secondary by signing Darius Slay and trading for Jalen Ramsey, and the defense should be among the best units in football again. With Rodgers’ ability to hold onto the football and the defense’s ability to force turnovers, the Steelers could win the turnover battle in more than 12 of their games. As Barnwell noted, the Steelers are 30-9 over the last four years when winning the turnover battle.
The offense needs to be able to get going early, and with unknowns at wide receiver and a run game that struggled during training camp and at times in the preseason, it’s a valid concern. But it’s clear this Steelers team is different if Barnwell has any sort of faith in them, and they’ll look to get off to a fast start in their Week 1 game on Sunday.
