What Qualifies as a Successful Season for the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers?
What would qualify as a successful season for the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers? SN analyst Derrick Bell breaks it down.
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will embark on their journey in pursuit of a seventh Lombardi Trophy. Before kickoff occurs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, it’s worth pondering what a successful season would look like for this group. Of course, all 32 franchises are in pursuit of the same end goal, but those championship aspirations are only realistic for so few teams. Even the most optimistic of viewpoints paints this team as one in transition.
Last seasons iteration of this column listed two primary goals for the organization: establish complete confidence in Kenny Pickett as the future of the offense and get to the playoffs. As we now know, they went 1/2 in meeting those marks with the former first-round quarterback flaming out before being jettisoned to Philadelphia earlier this offseason. But all of that is in the past now, with this upcoming campaign all that matters.
Earlier this week, I dropped my season-long predictions for the Steelers and pegged them as a 9-8 team with reasons for that detailed in the article. While a run to the postseason is certainly within the range of possibilities, it’s not exactly expected on my end. And because of that, I don’t think a playoff berth should be the barometer in which we gauge this season as a success or not. Plenty will disagree with that. Not just the record prediction itself but the fan base is hungry as ever for playoff success, with Mike Tomlin currently riding an underwhelming seven-season streak without a playoff win.
For me to consider the 2024 season a successful one, the Steelers need to give us a foundation to believe in on the offensive side of the ball. That may seem vague on the surface but let me explain.
Pittsburgh’s invested heavily in the offensive line in recent seasons. They traded up for Broderick Jones in 2023. They spent their first two selections in April on Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier. That makes for me quite a bit of youth and inexperience in the trenches but there’s a good bit of talent there as well. Even if that talent isn’t necessarily fully formed just yet.
The Steelers struck out in their attempts to add another wide receiver but we know that George Pickens is immensely talented and coming off an exciting sophomore season. Pat Freiermuth was just recently inked to a healthy extension which gives us every indication that they plan on him being a cornerstone on that side of the ball for years to come. Given new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s run-heavy approach, we know the game plan will flow through their tailbacks ability to keep them ahead of the chains on the ground.
That’s where the questions start to heat up. How do all of these pieces fit into Smith’s system? What did he learn from his failures in Atlanta? Is this scheme still practical enough to success in today’s version of the NFL? Because if we know anything about how the Steelers have historically handled their coaching staffs, Smith’s leash will be long, extending well beyond this season regardless of how this year transpires. The offensive coordinator decision is the most important hire a head coach can make but for this franchise in particular, it’s of the utmost important.
It’s no secret that there are massive questions regarding the state of the quarterback position in Pittsburgh, with a pair of new signal callers set to take stage. Russell Wilson brings championship pedigree as he attempts to revive his career after an abysmal stint in Denver. Justin Fields is loaded with raw tools but has yet to establish himself as a consistent enough passer to be relied upon as the face of a franchise. Neither of those players are under contract beyond this season.
Ideally, one of those guys steps up and offers enough stability to give the organization enough confidence to ride with them in the short term beyond just 2024. But if not, it will be time to move on. But even if the solution isn’t in house right now, we could all still leave this season feeling optimistic about where they’re headed.
Perhaps it’s unrealistic to predict breakouts for every single one of the Steelers young players, rookies included. But what a difference it would be for us to see most of these guys trending in the right direction as a better version of themselves as players in this system. The offensive line specifically is a group that should be better with time and hit their stride in the second half of the season so long as they remain healthy.
If that unit finishes the season on a positive note, the duo of Pickens/Freiermuth look like a legitimate duo that you build a functional passing game around with Smith reinventing himself as a play caller, there should be a lot of optimism around this team heading into next spring. At that point, you can feel really good about potentially dropping a young quarterback into this ecosystem. Or perhaps even make a big splash signing or trade to put this team over the top.
To summarize, I want to see an offensive identity worth building on with talented prospects turning into foundational pieces for the future. Anything more than that would be an added bonus. It’s been a while since the Steelers have given us much to be excited about on the offensive side of the ball. It’s past time to change that.
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