The Pittsburgh Steelers entered 2025 with high expectations, but the season ended up being more of the same. For the third year in a row, they went 10-7 and made the playoffs only to get knocked out in the first round. However, that isn’t deterring them in 2026. The Steelers still think they can compete for a Super Bowl. While winning a championship next season might be unrealistic, analyst John Breech still thinks the Steelers’ stock is up after the recent additions to their roster.
“It feels like people are sleeping on them,” Breech said Tuesday on CBS Sports HQ. “This team just won the AFC North, and it feels like they went into free agency thinking, ‘How can we improve the offense so we can convince Aaron Rodgers to come back?’ That’s the one thing they’re waiting on.
“They lost Kenneth Gainwell to the Buccaneers, so you need some running back help. Rico Dowdle is that guy. The man is a human steamroller. This team also went out and made a trade for Michael Pittman [Jr.]. They absolutely needed a No. 2 receiver. Also love what they did in the secondary…This roster looks a lot better.”
The Steelers have indeed done a good job of addressing their needs. Pittman and Dowdle give their offense a boost, while Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker provide them with quality players on the back end of their defense. Sebastian Joseph-Day and Darnell Savage figure to be quality depth pieces, too. The Steelers even got a new punter in Cameron Johnston.
The offseason is far from over, too. The Steelers have a lot of draft capital, so they aren’t done adding to their roster. While they still have question marks, they have time to find answers.
However, that might not be enough for them to repeat as AFC North champions. The Steelers haven’t done that since the 2017 season, and that team was stacked.
All four AFC North teams struggled last year, but that might not be the case in 2026. Injuries really hurt the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. If both those teams’ quarterbacks are healthy next season, they’ll be front runners for the division crown.
The Ravens and Bengals aren’t perfect, but they’re miles ahead of the Steelers at quarterback. That’s Pittsburgh’s biggest obstacle. Even if Rodgers returns, he’s 42 years old, and he could continue to decline. The Steelers’ lack of a franchise quarterback makes it hard to take them seriously as a Super Bowl contender. They’ll have to continue upgrading the rest of their roster if they want to stay on top of their division.
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