As has become tradition, and has consistently been proven wrong, multiple NFL.com analysts predict the Pittsburgh Steelers will have the franchise’s first losing season in more than 20 years. Adam Rank and Ali Bhanpuri offered season predictions for each team and were in lockstep on Pittsburgh’s outlook. Both picked the Steelers to finish 8-9, resulting in the team’s first sub-.500 campaign since 2003.
Both slotted Pittsburgh third in the AFC North and, obviously, missing the playoffs.
“There is no doubt in my mind that [Aaron] Rodgers makes this team much better than it would be with Mason Rudolph under center,” the two wrote in the “final verdict” of their prediction. “How much better? I can see him playing nice for a while, but, well, he’s already complaining about his helmet. [Mike] Tomlin has done some great work in the past; that said, winning with the 41-year-old at QB might be too big a hurdle, even for him.”
There are valid reasons to doubt Rodgers leading the Steelers. He’s 41, coming off a five-win campaign, and the AFC North is as tough as any division. Complaints over a helmet seem like the last reason to suggest there will be trouble.
If it’s any consolation, Rank’s 8-9 prediction is a two-game improvement from his 6-11 belief six weeks ago.
The exercise had both men make game-by-game predictions. Rank and Bhanpuri picked the New York Jets to beat the Steelers in the season opener with Pittsburgh picking up wins over the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in the ensuing two weeks. Bhanpuri has Pittsburgh losing its next four games while Rank has the Steelers starting 4-1 before collapsing.
On paper, a tough end of the Steelers’ schedule has the team waving the white flag. Bhanpuri has Pittsburgh losing three of its final five games, dropping contests to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, Detroit Lions in Week 16, and Ravens again in the season finale. Rank predicts an even worse end, going 2-5 over the final seven games. The paths are different, but the outcome is the same: 8-9 when the season is done.
The duo predicts the Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals having double-digit win seasons. They differ on who wins the division, Bhanpuri picking the Ravens and Rank the Bengals, but neither give the Steelers much of a chance to compete.
Recommended for you