National Predictions for Steelers 2023 Season
With the NFL season already underway and the Pittsburgh Steelers set to kick off their 91st season on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at Acrisure Stadium, outlets from across the country have given their input on how Pittsburgh’s 2023 campaign will unfold. It seems like most analysts have the ceiling for the Steelers at 11 wins, while the floor is at seven wins. Vegas has the Steelers’ win total at 8.5.
Below is a series of predictions from analysts on how the Steelers will fare in 2023.
Peter King of NBC Sports: 9-8, Pittsburgh wins the tiebreaker with Miami (9-8) and the L.A. Chargers (9-8) to earn the seventh seed. King has the Steelers losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round.
“You know how tough it is to keep Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert out of the playoffs? Kenny Pickett’s a top-12 QB by December,” King wrote.
Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports made a ceiling and floor prediction for the Steelers.
Ceiling: 11-6, win AFC North
“The Steelers appear primed to strike in the division this season, thanks to the emergence of Kenny Pickett heading into his second year,” Kerr wrote. “Not only has Pickett improved, but he has a rising star in George Pickens at wide receiver — with Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson as his other options. Pat Freiermuth is already a top-10 tight end in the league, while the offensive line also improved with rookie Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo. T.J. Watt is back to take the defense to greater heights, as evidenced in the second half of last season when he returned from a torn pectoral muscle. The defense is one of the best in the league when Watt is on the field. If Pickett emerges into an upper-echelon quarterback, the Steelers are a serious threat to win the division.”
Floor: 8-9, miss playoffs
“If the Steelers didn’t have a losing season last year with a developing rookie quarterback and a poor offensive line, they may never have one under Mike Tomlin,” Kerr wrote. “But could it come this season? The Steelers do have some question marks at cornerback with an aging Patrick Peterson, but they did draft Joey Porter Jr. to fill the void. The offensive line has some concerns on the right side, while Jones hasn’t beaten out Dan Moore at left tackle (yet). If Pickett struggles, can the rushing game and defense pick him up? Never count the Steelers out in a division race, as they’ll be a tough out.”
John Breech of CBS Sports: 9-8, last in the AFC North
“The AFC North is so loaded this year that the entire division could end up making NFL history. Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, there has NEVER been a season where every single team in a division finished with a winning record. There have been several seasons where the last place team finished 8-8 (that most recently happened last year in the NFC East), but there’s never been an instance where every team finished ABOVE .500,” Breech wrote. “With Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson at quarterback, plus a reloaded Steelers team, it’s hard to imagine any team in this division finishing the year with a losing record (Note: I’m also picking every AFC East team to finish with a winning record, which I guess is extra bold since this has never happened in NFL history and I’m predicting it to happen twice in one year).”
Cynthia Frelund of NFL.com projects 9.0 wins for the Steelers in 2023. Her ceiling for Pittsburgh is 10.5 wins and the floor is 7.9.
“If Kenny Pickett is going to take the step forward many of us are anticipating, the O-line will need to do a better job of supporting the offense,” Frelund wrote. “The Steelers made moves this offseason to address the front five. That group’s play will go a long way toward deciding how things go for the Pittsburgh offense. By the way, I tracked T.J. Watt in person during the Bills-Steelers preseason game. His first three steps off the line of scrimmage were faster than they were two seasons ago.”
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report: 10-7
“My gut feeling is that general expectations aren’t as high for Pittsburgh as they probably should be. The biggest concern is that the Steelers play in a loaded AFC North, but even a last-place finish could see nine or more wins,” Knox wrote. “Here’s where we point out that the Steelers have never experienced a losing season under head coach Mike Tomlin. If the over/under is 8.5, I’m taking the over every time.”
NFL writer Scott Kacsmar: 10-7, Pittsburgh as the seventh seed loses to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round.
“The schedule is not so front-loaded brutal like it was last year when the Steelers started 2-6. But with Pickett and Pickens no longer rookies, T.J. Watt back healthy, and Mike Tomlin always finding a way to not have a losing season, I think the Steelers improve enough in a deep division to get to 10 wins. Is that enough for the playoffs?” Kascmar wrote.
Luke Lindholm of Sports Illustrated: 7-10
“Pittsburgh’s win total has been set at 8.5 games, which seems a tad bit high in our opinion,” Lindholm wrote. “Although the over 8.5 is favored, we still believe that the Steelers will underperform and fall short of a winning season. The team is very young and most of their key players are still in their second or third seasons in the league, while other teams in their division such as the Bengals and Ravens have stocked up on veteran talent to make a playoff push. We believe that the Steelers will not be in contention for the AFC North title this season as we project them to finish with a 7-10 record.”
Ben Arthur of Fox Sports: 10-7
“The Steelers have a brutal three-game slate to end the season, facing the Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens. But Mike Tomlin hasn’t had a losing record since becoming Pittsburgh’s head coach in 2007, and I don’t expect that to happen now,” Arthur wrote. “The Steelers aren’t one of the elite teams in the AFC, but they should be in the mix for a playoff spot with Kenny Pickett in Year 2 and a T.J. Watt-led defense.”
“Navigating six games against strong divisional opponents will be challenging for the Steelers. However, they do get some relief with matchups against the NFC West and AFC South. Their toughest non-divisional games, against the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars, are at home,” Limbach wrote. “Despite this, last season’s late success seemed to hinge on facing struggling or injured teams. Replicating that in a competitive division will be difficult. Hence, I’m leaning toward under 8.5 wins for the Steelers with +120 odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook.”
Brian Lewis of Pro Football Network: Under 8.5 wins
“Is this going to be the first losing season for Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh?! Tomlin has a very young team, particularly on offense, that should continue to get better this season. But the Pittsburgh Steelers are in arguably the most competitive division in all of football and are a distant last in overall talent among teams in the AFC North,” Lewis wrote. “There is still definitely a path for the Steelers to go over their win total and make the playoffs. It would require major growth from QB Kenny Pickett in Year 2, Diontae Johnson and George Pickens emerging as one of the best WR duos in the NFL, and T.J. Watt staying healthy after missing seven games last season.”
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