The Pittsburgh Steelers have been stuck in a rut for the last few years, but it’s a new era with Mike McCarthy as their head coach. The 2026 NFL schedule has been released, allowing Steelers fans to try to predict how the team will do this year. Many people think they’ll take a step back, with others seeing more of the same. However, former Steelers linebacker James Harrison is setting the bar high for Pittsburgh this season.
“After we pop them on December 20th, Baltimore, and then the Panthers, and then Tennessee, we’re resting,” Harrison said Friday on his Deebo and Joe podcast. “We done won the North. We probably sitting there fighting for [the AFC’s top seed] and fighting for the bye. Maybe 14-3, 13-4 at worst… That’s my worst-case scenario… 16-1, [best-case scenario].”
Harrison’s bias as an ex-Steeler is showing. There are many other uglier ways that the Steelers’ season can go. The actual worst-case scenario is that they lose every game, but that’s probably as realistic as expecting the Steelers to go 17-0. Neither outcome is impossible, but don’t bet on the Steelers winning or losing every game.
Could the Steelers go 13-4? Yes, but that’s an optimistic outlook, far from their worst-case scenario. They haven’t won at least 13 games since the 2017 season. The Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell all in their prime that year.
While the current team is talented, it isn’t anything compared to that 2017 team. Look at how the Steelers have done over the last five years. They’ve finished 10-7 three times, 9-8, and 9-7-1. They’ve been stuck in the middle of the pack. What’s going to change that this season?
Some people will point to McCarthy’s presence as a potential difference maker. However, he’s only won 13 or more games in his head coaching career twice, once in 2007 and again in 2011. McCarthy struggled to win 13 games when he had Aaron Rodgers in his prime under center. Even if Rodgers re-signs with the Steelers, it’s unlikely that the two will be better than they were previously.
It’s more likely that the Steelers will hover around the same place they’ve been in recent years. Maybe they could overachieve and win 11 or 12 games, but 13 feels like a stretch.
The key will be whether or not the Steelers make the playoffs. Even if they win nine games, this season will be a success if they get into the postseason and win a game. The Steelers are stuck in an ugly playoff losing streak, and they desperately need to break it.
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