Heading into the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule is pretty brutal from a strength perspective, especially after their Week 9 bye.
In weeks 10 through 18, the Steelers will play all six AFC North games, face the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders in the tough NFC East, and host the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium on Christmas Day.
On paper, it’s as difficult as it can be.
The Steelers did a good job of expanding their roster this offseason, filling some big holes and taking care of the quarterback, offensive line, inside linebacker, cornerback and safety positions, not to mention punter, and saw clear improvements over what they had previously.
Nevertheless, former NFL GM and ESPN host Mike Tannenbaum believes the Steelers have “no chance” of having a successful season in 2024 under head coach Mike Tomlin.
“If they get a win, Mike Tomlin will be in the Hall of Fame on the off week,” Tannenbaum said of the Steelers on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday morning, according to a video via ESPN. “This team has no chance of winning here. Just destroy the process. Give him the gold jacket.”
“Driving from Pittsburgh to Canton…that’s impossible.”
Now that Mike Tannenbaum is saying there’s no way the Steelers can win this season, we might as well all pack up and go home.
There really is nothing better than a change of heart from Tannenbaum. Throughout the offseason, Tannenbaum was elated with the Steelers, saying they were over the hump as far as the transition period following Ben Roethlisberger’s 18-year career goes and they were in good shape overall.
He also advocated using Justin Fields as quarterback and even extending his contract before the season because of his talent and contributions to the Steelers.
Now, just eight days before the start of the NFL season, Tannenbaum sees no chance that Tomlin and the Steelers will win in 2024. And if they do, he says, Tomlin should immediately get a gold jacket and be inducted into the Hall of Fame, a place he is already headed for after his career is over.
All right then.
Yes, the schedule is tough. The second half of the schedule will be a real gauntlet. It will be more about who is the healthiest during this series of games than who is truly the better team. The Steelers know how to play AFC North football and win. They have done it time and time again under Tomlin.
Maybe someday these predictions of a down season, last place in the division, etc. will come true. But it’s pretty tiring that this seems to be the most popular prediction for the Steelers over the last few years, and then everyone acts in disbelief when it’s January and the Steelers are in the thick of the playoffs.
