The Pittsburgh Steelers may have revamped their offense with a new coordinator, two new quarterbacks, and a beefed-up offensive line, but that doesn’t mean everybody is buying into their potential entering 2024. Former NFL offensive lineman Alex Boone was asked which playoff teams from the 2023 season miss the playoffs and he included the Steelers.
“Texans in, Chiefs in, for sure. Ravens in for sure,” Boone said in an episode of The OLine Committee on Tuesday. “I’m gonna say Steelers, Bills, and Miami are out for sure.”
The NFL is known for parity and new teams emerge every season and make a surprise playoff push. Last year it was the Texans, who went from 3-13-1 in 2022 to 10-7 in 2023. Boone’s argument was less about the Steelers being a bad team, and more about the level of competition across the AFC. When it came down to it, he saw the final spot being between the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers.
“I don’t know if I see either of those teams getting in, but if anything, I see Cleveland leaning a ton on Kevin [Stefanski] being extremely smart and having the ability that maybe Deshaun Watson still has something left in his tank,” Boone said.
Both the Steelers and Browns had similar seasons last year. Despite devastating injuries at key positions, they both finished with double-digit wins and qualified for the playoffs. That speaks to the talent of each team and would suggest big things are in store for 2024. But if you go team by team, it gets pretty difficult to narrow down which ones will miss out on the playoffs.
Looking at the teams that did not qualify last season, you could make a case for any of the AFC South teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, or Tennessee Titans to push for a playoff spot this year. Then you have the Cincinnati Bengals, who have qualified every season that Joe Burrow has been healthy. The New York Jets will actually have a quarterback this season so long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy, and then you can’t count out the Las Vegas Raiders or Los Angeles Chargers.
There are really only a few weak links in the whole conference. It might be the best overall pool of quarterbacks that the conference has ever had. Even the teams that are still figuring out their QB position drafted first-round rookies that could very well surprise the league as C.J. Stroud did last season.
Add that the Steelers have one of the toughest schedules in the league, and it really does get hard to get too high on their chances of making the playoffs. I personally think they can get it done, but also recognize that it is an uphill battle with the level of competition around the AFC.