Maybe it’s just the lull of the offseason talking, but public perception of the Steelers seems to have a pretty high variance.
Some look at a team that made the playoffs last year with one of the worst quarterback rooms of all time, project even mediocre play from Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields, and assume the team has a very viable path to ten wins.
However, there are those on the other end of the spectrum, who are absolute non-believers in the 2024 Steelers. This group regularly cites the team’s difficult schedule, and lack of true playmakers on offense as reasons why the Steelers won’t be anything close to a contender in 2024.
Former NFL QB Kurt Benkert certainly falls in the latter camp. He had one of the most extreme negative takes that I’ve heard all off-season about the team on his Pocket Presence show.
“I just don’t see how the Steelers team this year looks much different than the Broncos team did last year. The Broncos’ defense was terrible at some points, but good at others. The Broncos’ defense was the reason they won games most of the year, that could be the same for the Steelers.” Benkert said. “I don’t think the Steelers win more than six games this year, if they win seven I’d be shocked.”
Let’s take a look at the 2023 Denver Broncos, and see if it’s an apt comparison. The quarterback play is comparable. As far as weapons on offense go, I would take George Pickens over any pass catcher on that Denver team, although the Broncos probably had more depth.
Comparing the defenses, where Benkert hitches the Denver-Pittsburgh similarities, is a little questionable. Sure, the statistics are a bit skewed due to Denver giving up 70 points to the Dolphins (which is still pretty pathetic), but they ranked 27th in scoring defense last season. The Steelers finished sixth. The Broncos had some playmakers on defense like Patrick Surtain and Justin Simmons, but the defense comparison comes off as lazy overall to me.
And look at their schedule, it is objectively brutal, but winning seven games isn’t exactly the insurmountable goal that Benkert makes it out to be. The division was roughly just as good last season, and they managed to go 5-1. Even if that had gone down to 2-4, they still would have won seven games last season, the number Benkert said he’d be “shocked” to see in 2024.
He might end up being right, and you don’t generate views with median predictions, but I think Benkert will end up looking and feeling silly after he watches the Steelers this year.