I really hate the fact that the National Football League plays 17 games now. I miss being able to say a team would “finish at .500” or “below .500” but not anymore. So with the Pittsburgh Steelers having played eight of their 17 games, does that mean this is the halfway point? Is the halfway point after the ninth game? Well, considering the actual season runs 18 weeks, I’m going to say we’ve officially reached the mid-point of the season. Here are several of my predictions for the Steelers in the second half of the season.
Their Playoff Hopes Will Come Down to the Finale
Would you really expect anything different? As has been the case in previous years, the Steelers’ postseason hopes will come down to the final game. This year they play at Baltimore to close the season. There is a chance that with how well Baltimore is playing, their own playoff fate could already be decided. That means the Ravens could be resting Lamar Jackson and a select number of other key players. This would seemingly be a positive for the Steelers who will need a victory.
This is still a rivalry and it’ still John Harbaugh. Baltimore isn’t going to roll over and let the Steelers just waltz into the playoffs. Can you imagine if a Pittsburgh win meant they played in Baltimore the following week in a wild-card game? Below, you’ll see what I think is going to happen.
Pickett Picks Up the Pace, Slightly
Now don’t going doing cartwheels here because I’m not suggesting Kenny Pickett becomes the second coming of Joe Montana. I do believe however he will lift his current stats up a bit from where they are now. His completion percentage is currently 61.3% (Last year he finished at 63%) and I think that comes up a bit as he continues to use Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris out of the backfield. The eventual return of Pat Freiermuth could also factor in here too but the bottom line is don’t expect to see him changing too much from what he’s currently doing with one exception. I do believe the Red Zone will get better with Diontae Johnson back to health.
Pickett has thrown six touchdown passes and four interceptions which evens his career totals to 13 TDs and 13 INTs. I’m going to suggest he has a slightly better second half and he’ll finish with 14 TD passes and eight interceptions. If that’s accurate, and I really hope it isn’t, then the discussions of whether he’s really the future at QB will only increase.
Watt Falls Short
With Cam Heyward back, I think opposing offenses won’t be able to just ‘automatically’ double-team T.J. Watt as often as they are now. While he was on a pace that would have seen him collect 27 sacks just a few weeks ago, things have slowed down for him. I think he ends up in the neighborhood of around 18 total sacks on the year. He doesn’t seem 100% healthy to me and I won’t be surprised to hear that something was bothering him once the season ends.
Jones Remains
This is the easiest of the predictions to make to be honest but I don’t see the Steelers going back to Chuks Okorafor barring injury. The run game was vastly improved on Thursday night with Jones getting his first start there and while it wasn’t a perfect performance it’s better than what they get from Okorafor.
Game-By-Game
I’d like to be able to say that the Steelers will just run the table and head into the postseason on a ridiculous cloud of momentum but… Have you watched this team? I practice in realism, not fantasy. Knowing what I know about teams the Steelers will face in their final nine games, here’s how I see things shaking out.
Green Bay W 6-3
@Cleveland L 6-4
@Cincinnati L 6-5
Arizona W 7-5
New England W 8-5
@Indianapolis W 9-5
Cincinnati L 9-6
@Seattle L 9-7
@Baltimore L 9-8
Should my predictions hold true, that would put the Steelers at 9-8 and out of the playoffs. What’s my reasoning for these outcomes? Simple. The Steelers have beaten two teams that currently have a winning record. The Browns in week two and the Ravens, in a game that they probably should have lost. Arizona, New England and Indianapolis all currently have records below .500. Despite being very concerned about the Colts’ game, it just feels to damn prophetic to not have the Steelers finish 9-8 again giving Mike Tomlin yet another “non-losing season.” Cincinnati and Baltimore will both qualify for the postseason with double-digit win totals.
