Although the Pittsburgh Steelers have improved their roster across the board, there are still many concerns, at least on paper, for the 2024 season. And no concern is bigger for the Steelers than the one at the quarterback position.
While Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are undoubtedly an improvement over the Steelers’ current quarterbacks, there are many questions about the two signal callers and their fit into the scheme of Arthur Smith, the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
Both Wilson and Fields had ups and downs in training camp and the preseason, with Wilson missing some time with a calf injury and Fields never quite getting a handle on the QB1 situation when the opportunity presented itself. The offense was also lackluster in the preseason.
Fortunately, the Steelers’ defense, which boasted big names like Patrick Queen, DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson during the offseason, should be able to carry the load at least early in the season while the offense finds its stride.
But that may not be good enough, at least in the eyes of ESPN’s Mike Greenberg. As host of Get Up on Wednesday morning, Greenberg highlighted the Steelers as one of five teams that will take a step back this season.
“It pains me to say this, but I have to believe the Steelers are going to take a step back,” Greenberg said, according to a video from ESPN. “They won 10 games last year. Their quarterback situation is better than it was, but I’m not sure it’s that much better. And this division is still loaded. Baltimore, Cleveland were under the radar and of course Cincinnati with a healthy (Joe) Burrow.”
“I think the Steelers are taking a step back.”
It seems like many pundits predict doom and gloom for the Black and Gold year after year. This is the year they finally run out of ways to win, they say. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers can’t keep it up, they say.
And yet, year after year, the Steelers have been at the forefront, finding ways to win, staying in the playoffs, and playing meaningful football. Granted, that meaningful football hasn’t translated into wins in the playoffs where it counts most, but it says something that year after year, the Steelers have remained in the thick of it as a relevant, playoff-quality team.
This year, after fixing some issues in the coaching staff and roster, they should take a step forward, not a step back.
Lost in all the talk about how strong the AFC North is once again is the fact that the Steelers were 5-1 in the division last season and have handled division play quite well for the most part over the past few years, even during the Steelers’ transition.
While there are some concerns about the quarterback situation, and rightly so, the Steelers have found a way to win despite serious quarterback issues last season. This team is built around defense and the running game. It’s been that way for the past few years, and it’s worked in terms of winning regular season games.
It seems to be popular to predict a decline, but year after year these experts are wrong and this season looks set to be another such case.
