The Steelers Are Built For the AFC North
Photo Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
Death, taxes, and Mike Tomlin going over .500 in an NFL season: These are the things in life you can count on. Even in an injury-marred season that saw Mitch Trubisky start half the games, Tomlin still led the Steelers to 9-8 last season. With significant offseason additions, an improved young quarterback, and an emergent passing game, the best coach in the NFL has a chance to surprise a lot of people in 2023
The easiest path to the playoffs is still always through one’s own division, and the AFC North is arguably the best in football. Fortunately, Omar Khan has structured his roster to compete against the team’s closest rivals. Despite being the odds-on favorite to come in last, there are good reasons to believe that Pittsburgh is primed to succeed against each of its divisional counterparts.
The Bengals
- Cincinnati’s new secondary
The Bengals’ big offseason storyline was their secondary. Safeties Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell have both departed for the NFC South (to the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, respectively). In their place will be free-agent acquisition Nick Scott and 2022 first-round pick Daxton Hill, who is moving from cornerback to safety. In addition, Chidobe Awuzie is returning from an ACL injury he suffered in 2022.
In their most recent matchup against Cincy, the Steelers put up 30 points against a Bengals defense that still had Bates and Bell. As the offense continues to develop, there’s no reason Matt Canada, Kenny Pickett, and Co. can’t continue that trend against a defense that is largely unproven entering 2023. The additional speed provided by Calvin Austin III creates a jet sweep and deep threat that will challenge unproven safeties, and the improvement along the offensive line will give Pickett time to operate in a way he hasn’t had in the past. Unless the Bengals’ line can get home early and often, there is absolute reason to believe the Steelers can attack Cincinnati’s unproven safeties and put up points against the division favorite.
- The Bengals’ O-Line
While Cincinnati’s offense has been among the most explosive in the league with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, their offensive line has been among the most inconsistent. Since 2021, Joe Burrow has been the NFL’s most-sacked quarterback, taking 92. The Steelers have accounted for 11 of those sacks. Seven came in their 2022 Week 1 matchup, a game in which the Steelers’ defense went off.
The Bengals enter 2023 with Jonah Williams switching from left to right tackle while Orlando Brown Jr. is taking the position of left tackle. With added depth and potential coming from a couple of their rookies T.J. Watt, and Cameron Heyward should have this sort of help that allows them to wreak havoc consistently against a subpar line.
- Pittsburgh’s High-IQ Secondary
No one in the league is going to consistently stop the Bengals’ passing attack, but Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin have assembled a group of high-football-IQ cornerbacks and safeties who are prepared to plug the dam and keep it from exploding. Minka Fitzpatrick, Patrick Peterson, and now even Desmond King represent the type of players Tomlin knows he needs to compete against a high-octane passing offense. Skilled defensive backs who can understand the complexity of Tomlin’s scheme and rarely make mental errors are crucial. If the secondary can play football free of mental mistakes, they should allow their talented D-line to get to Burrow early and often.
The Browns
- Linebacker Mismatches
The Browns’ linebacking corps, led by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has been average at best over the past couple seasons. They added Dalvin Tomlinson in the offseason in hopes the big man could help eat up blocks and free up the linebackers. But Tomlinson is clearly on the other side of the hill, and their other starter, Shelby Harris, was signed off the street in preseason. If Darnell Washington progresses the way many in Pittsburgh believe he will, the Steelers will have a two-headed tight end nightmare in him and Pat Freiermuth ready to run those average linebackers all over the field.
- Containing Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb is, without question, the star of the Browns’ offense. Against the Steelers, however, Chubb has merely been a league-average running back. He’s only eclipsed 100 yards twice against Pittsburgh and has only found paydirt on three occasions (two rushing, one receiving). Since Chubb was drafted in 2018, the Steelers are 6-3-1 against the Browns. Tomlin and the defense have the superstar’s number.
- Over Hyped passing Offense
“But this isn’t your dad’s Browns. This is going to be an explosive offense!”
There are those that will tell you Deshaun Watson is about to return to top form. That Amari Cooper isn’t aging. That Donovan Peoples-Jones is actually as good as people pretend he is. That Elijah Moore will break out despite the disaster that occurred in New York.
We’ll believe it when we see it. Kevin Stefanski has one of the most dramatic run rates in the recent modern NFL. It’s hard to believe he is going to completely change everything he does to satiate a quarterback. And even if he does and all the hype around the passing game becomes reality, go ahead and refer to the Bengals segment to see how well built the Steelers are for competing against an explosive offense.
The Ravens
- Continue Stopping Lamar Jackson
The Steelers and Ravens have spent much of the last two decades building their rosters to compete against one another. In recent history the Black and Gold’s athletic line and complex scheme has been the perfect antidote to Jackson’s unique abilities.
The Steelers are 2-1 against the Ravens when Lamar Jackson starts. While the electric signal caller has averaged 63 rushing yards per game, the Steelers have held him to a 66.7 passer rating in their matchups. In his career, Lamar has thrown more picks than TDs against Pittsburgh and has yet to log a rushing touchdown. Meanwhile Tomlin’s bunch sacked Jackson a total of 16 times. With depth improvements to the line and more experience in the secondary, the Steelers just need to continue to do what they’ve done and they will compete every time they see the Ravens.
- Health
The Ravens are an above-average team when healthy. However, they haven’t been fully healthy for a full season over the past couple years. Since 2021, Jackson has missed eight games. In the backfield, J.K. Dobbins has missed 25 games over the last two years, and Gus Edwards missed the entire 2022 season. In the receiver corps, Odell Beckham is returning from an ACL tear he suffered in Super Bowl LVI. Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay both had their seasons end prematurely with foot injuries. No one here is predicting injuries, and you never wish that on another team, but until Jim Harbaugh and his staff are able to get through a season relatively intact, the Ravens will carry the stigma that has followed them for the past few years.
Up Next