Colin Cowherd: Steelers Will Make Playoffs over Ravens

The Steelers are going to be aiming to make it back to the postseason after missing out on the playoffs last year and going 9-8, but in order to do that, they may have to overcome their AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. Well, one pundit believes that could very well happen.

Colin Cowherd took to his show, The Herd, to predict who he believed would make the playoffs in the 2023 season. As one of the new playoff teams, Cowherd believes that the Steelers could be that new team in the AFC to stun a few people, and it could be at the expense of the Baltimore Ravens.

“If T.J. Watt plays, they win,” Cowherd said. “Last year, 8-2 when T.J. Watt played. Last two years, 17-7 when he plays. He’s healthy, they win. The second reason is, their top 7 or 8 players don’t get hurt…their chief rivals, the Ravens, outside of Mark Andrews, all get hurt….the third reason is they won 6 of 7 and won 4 straight. Their defense was unbelievable….the Pittsburgh Steelers, not the Baltimore Ravens, are a playoff team.”

"The Pittsburgh Steelers, not the Baltimore Ravens, are a playoff team."@ColinCowherd reveals his latest playoff prediction pic.twitter.com/SFEyey07we

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 16, 2023

This comment from Cowherd is interesting, as just last week, he vehemently called out Mike Tomlin and the front office for their teambuilding strategy and how they go about making moves to become Super Bowl contenders. He ranked them as the 9th best team in the AFC back in May. So, them making the playoffs means they are overachieving by his metrics.

“They can’t fix their offensive line,” Cowherd said. “Same thing with Pittsburgh. You know what they have in common? A defensive coach. These teams, they have a defensive coach in an offensive league. When I put my Super Bowl teams in a bubble, there’s a reason it’s mostly offensive coaches.”

Regardless, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have one of the easier schedules in the NFL. On top of that, they project to be better than they were a year ago with Pickett making strides and a new-look offensive line. However, most analysts will have them outside of the playoff picture in their previews.