The Steelers started off the 2021 season off with a 1-1 record after an impressive win against the Buffalo Bills and a disappointing loss against the Las Vegas Raiders, which has sparked concerns about the productivity of this offense and the team’s ability to win games in the rest of the season.        

After much uncertainty, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is coming back for an amazing 18th season. After an off-year in 2020, the Steelers front office and Roethlisberger agreed to restructure his contract because of the enormous amount of money he was due.  Roethlisberger agreed to drop his contract from $19 million per year to $14 million dollars per year, a significant reduction in salary cap. 

On defense, this allowed the Steelers to make a trade for linebacker Joe Schoebert from Jacksonville, and sign a big name, Melvin Ingram, one of the best pass rushers in the entire league a few years ago.

 As expected, elite edge rusher TJ Watt signed a new, record setting contract extension, which consists of 4 years, $112 million with $80 million guaranteed along with a $35 million signing bonus, making him the highest paid defensive player in football history per ESPN.

 Over the off-season, Steelers lost cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson which was a big hit to the secondary, and will have to rely on stars Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden. Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was elected for First Team All-Pro last season, will be playing safety along with Terrell Edmunds.

At cornerback, Joe Haden will hold down the fort along with Cam Sutton on the other side of the field. The third corner is a competition between two inexperienced corners, Tre Norwood and James Pierre who will need to take a big step up this year. With Cam Heyward playing defensive tackle and TJ Watt playing linebacker, this pass rush  can dominate against any team and cause consistent pressure and stress on the quarterback and offensive line. 

The Steelers had a lot of holes to fill on offense after last season. Hoping to revive the almost non-existent running game, the Steelers drafted Alabama star running back Najee Harris who was the consensus #1 running back in the draft. Although he is such a talented running back, he will be running behind a young and unproven offensive line which is predicted to be one of the worst in the NFL.

On the new Matt Canada-run offense, there are high expectations for wide receivers Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Juju Smith-Schuster. Johnson was the team’s leading receiver last year with 923 yards, while Claypool led the team in touchdowns with a total of 11. Smith-Schuster has been a consistent difference maker for the Steelers.

Like last year, it is the same wide receivers who are very capable of being a force on offense. The receivers are not an issue, but the offensive line could cause some problems. The offense will likely not play well enough to help win very many games.

One of the many concerns for the Steelers’ success this year is the strength of schedule, which is one of the hardest in the NFL. Some teams include the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and 2019-2020 Super Bowl champs, Kansas City Chiefs.

Furthermore, it will be tough to get a playoff spot in their tough division consisting of the Ravens, Browns, and Bengals. Besides the inferior record of the Bengals last year, the Steelers will have to face a well improved Cleveland Browns team who have a high powered offense and solid defense. The Browns were the team that knocked the Steelers out of the playoffs in a heartbreaking loss last year

 The Ravens are another threat to the Steelers with former 2020 MVP and elusive quarterback, Lamar Jackson. Jackson is known to hurt teams with the use of his legs and has also proved that he can pass the football proficiently. The Ravens defense is no easy team to score points on too. This division will surely give the Steelers a run for their money. 

The prominent defense is likely to bail out the inadequate offense and help propel the team to victory on a few occasions, but in the end, the Steelers have the look of a 9-8 team that will likely miss the playoffs.