Steel City Renaissance: Why the Steelers will take a leap in 2023 Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers of 2022 were everything from woeful to downright lucky at times, in a year that had everything.

With Big Ben’s (Ben Roethlisberger) departure the Steelers lost the last of the stead-fast and reliable Steelers team of old. From a team almost guaranteed playoff football every year to a team destined for the bottom of the AFC North (had the Cleveland QB merry-go-round not continued to spin). Add into that A LOT of QB uncertainty, wide receivers more interested in TikTok and on-field antics and you have a team in the midst of a transition period.

The landscape of the AFC North has changed, Lamar Jackson running the show in Baltimore (even if the Ravens are making a meal of his contract situation) and Joe Burrow has shown in his 3 seasons that he is the real deal, taking Cincinnati deep into the playoffs twice.

So you might ask why there would be a so-called “renaissance” in Pittsburgh? 

Mike Tomlin

Safe to say Pittsburgh was in need of a guiding light last year, and as reliable as a late season Lamar Jackson injury, Mike Tomlin was there dragging a 2-7 team to a record that no one could have envisaged after 9 games. Going on a hot streak in the second half of the season ending with a 9-8 record, narrowly missing the playoffs. 

Playing large parts of the year without consistent QB play and their star defensive man TJ Watt on the sideline. Pittsburgh was rightly written off.

Yet Tomlin has been relentless in his pursuit of getting to the postseason throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, making the playoffs 10 times and never having a losing record. He never backed down from his vendetta to push until the final game, dropping Trubisky, placing Pickett into the fire and reaping the benefits.

A full training camp with promising young Kenny Pickett, with upgrades on all sides of the ball, and under Tomlin’s tutelage, I anticipate another close run race in the AFC North.

QB Play

During the 2022 training camp the Steelers QB room was made up of an unproven 3rd year backup (Mason Rudolph), a widely considered 1st Round flop (Mitch Trubisky) and a raw, 1st Round rookie (Kenny Pickett).

Going into 2023, there is reason for optimism in Pittsburgh. Kenny Pickett has proved that he is an upgrade at QB, and there is no sugar coating it, Mitch Trubisky is not and has never been a franchise QB. Pittsburgh suffered from his play in the early stages of 2022, there is a reason that the Bears benched him for Nick Foles prior to trading him away. Foles had a magical playoff run but he has failed to show true franchise QB qualities and that speaks volume of Trubisky’s abilities.

Pickett however, flashed glimpses of what is to come in his second year, with dual-threat abilities standing and delivering down field, whilst taking the easy first down with his legs when needed. If you haven’t seen much of Pickett, take a look at his fake kneel at college vs Wake Forest… this young man has speed to burn.

No. 8 led consecutive game winning drives late in the season in 2022. It is that clutch mentality that Pittsburgh will need to see more of in 2023. Pair that with a tonne of talent in Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, defenses have been put on notice. 

Defense; Steel Curtain returning?

Look I’m not saying this is the next coming of that legendary 1970s defense, but one look at some of the names on the depth chart and you can’t help but think this team is going to take a leap in 2023.

An All-Pro in Patrick Peterson joining the ranks, no matter how long in the tooth he is, is a sign that pass coverage in Pittsburgh is about to get a whole lot tighter. Ranking 7th among all cornerbacks last year, add me to the list of people who love this trade. Paired with Minkah Fitzpatrick expect some splash plays in 2023.

Then there is the defensive line, you have two perennial Pro-Bowl caliber players in TJ Watt and Cam Heyward, as well as promising young Linebacker in Alex Highsmith. 

The future is bright in Pittsburgh, so bright that come January we could see those terrible towels whirling as the backdrop to playoff football.