National Football League

Are Steelers destined to hover around .500?

Updated Sep. 8, 2022 1:50 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of new faces in the building, but will it make any difference in the win column this season?

The biggest changes have come in the quarterback room, as future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger retired after 18 seasons under center. Pittsburgh signed former Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and selected Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Colin Cowherd views the Steelers roster as undesirable as it concerns contending for the Super Bowl.

"The Steelers kind of have one way they can beat you going into this season: a suffocating, relentless pass rush," Cowherd said. "The quarterback, Trubisky, not great. Offensive coordinator [Matt Canada], I'm not a fan. Run game, O-Line, still kind of meh. Bengals, Ravens can beat you a lot of ways."

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Pittsburgh went 9-7-1 last season, good for second in the AFC North and the final playoff seed, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round. Trubisky, who will be the team's starting QB in its Week 1 matchup with the Bengals, will be throwing to wide receivers Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and rookie George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth. Second-year running back Najee Harris, whose 307 rushing attempts were second in the NFL in 2021, will be alongside Trubisky.

Head coach Mike Tomlin's defense is headlined by Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cameron Heyward. However, the team hasn't won a playoff game since 2016 and will likely have stiff competition in the AFC North this season.

Cincinnati won the AFC last season with quarterback Joe Burrow, who's entering his third season. The Ravens have won eight-plus games in each of quarterback Lamar Jackson's four seasons in the league. While Deshaun Watson is suspended for the first 11 games of the season, the Cleveland Browns have a respectable defense led by Pro Bowlers Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward.

Cowherd sees 2022 being more of the same for Pittsburgh: a competitive but tedious team that hovers around .500. The Steelers have not had a single losing season under Tomlin (15 years).

"What Pittsburgh is going to be is Pittsburgh – which is why I haven't taken them seriously for 10 years for Super Bowls," Cowherd said. "They're going to be Pittsburgh. They're going to be mostly well-coached, very competent, one way to win, meh at quarterback in big spots, and that's what they'll be. They'll be Pittsburgh.

"They're not gifted enough offensively on the O-line or playcalling … to be a San Francisco, but they won't be a disaster like Denver [was without Peyton Manning] because, again, Deshaun Watson's not playing, the schedule's got a lot of Ws and Tomlin's built up a lot of trust with the players. They play hard, they're always good when you doubt 'em, sometimes not as good when they're favored. But I think Pittsburgh is going to be what they've been two of the last three years, just hovering around .500."