The Steelers own long odds to win the Super Bowl in 2023, currently listed at +6000, but a growing sense of optimism around the team is whistling through the winds after two strong preseason showings for Kenny Pickett and the offense. However, not everyone believes that the Steelers can make a long run.
On The Herd, Colin Cowherd noted that he believes there are about 14 teams that could win a Super Bowl. The Steelers are not one of those teams to him, mainly because the NFL is such a quarterback-driven league. Cowherd does not see Pickett in the elite tier of quarterbacks yet that would allow him to run the gauntlet of the AFC in the playoffs. So, when his co-host Jason McIntyre asked about the Steelers winning the Super Bowl, he shot down the idea.
“No,” Cowherd said. “And go through Burrow and Allen and Lamar and Mahomes and Russell and Payton? I’m putting him in the category of ‘could win a playoff game.’ He’s not going to Arrowhead and then Cincinnati and Buffalo and Baltimore.”
The argument holds water in a loaded AFC that is quarterback driven. Indeed, the Steelers have a better roster to make a push for the playoffs. But Kenny Pickett and the team could be a year away from making any noise that could push for a Lombardi Trophy.
However, Cowherd’s core argument that elite quarterbacks are the ones that win Super Bowls is not always true. In the past, guys such as Nick Foles, Trent Dilfer, Joe Flacco, Jared Goff, and Jimmy Garappolo have either won a Super Bowl or reached one. In the last two seasons, teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles came virtually out of nowhere to make pushes to the Super Bowl, though they did not win them. Still, Cowherd is likely right about the Steelers this year, as the team feels like they are still just a year away from putting it all together, even if the logic he uses is not universally true.