After finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs in 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to rebound with Ben Roethlisberger in 2020.
Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers battled through injuries to finish with an 8-8 record. Despite Mike Tomlin’s best efforts and the contributions of Pittsburgh’s stacked defense, the Steelers missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Now, Tomlin’s crew is preparing for a bounce-back season as the Steelers schedule for 2020 has been released.
Pittsburgh’s 2019 season seemed doomed from the start when Ben Roethlisberger exited the team’s Week 2 matchup with a season-ending elbow injury. However, the addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick and the emergence of several playmakers on Pittsburgh’s defense kept the team alive. With most of the defense returning and Roethlisberger rehabbing from surgery, the Steelers can make a deep playoff run this coming season.
The Steelers face their usual AFC North rivals in 2020, along with the 2019 second-place teams from the other AFC divisions. The team also plays the entire AFC South and NFC East. The South produced two playoff teams last season, while the East was the only division won by a team with fewer than ten wins. Last year, it was arguably the weakest division in the entire NFL.
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However, while the Steelers benefited from getting Big Ben back this offseason, the NFC East also improved significantly. The Philadelphia Eagles overhauled their injury-prone receiving corps while the Dallas Cowboys arguably drafted better than any team this year.
The AFC North also got more competitive. The Baltimore Ravens drafted two potentially starting linebackers and acquired defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe. The Cleveland Browns continued addressing their secondary, replaced both of their offensive tackles, and added even more weapons around Baker Mayfield. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals went on a spending spree in free agency and drafted Joe Burrow.
The upcoming season could be the greatest test Tomlin’s team has faced under the head coach’s tenure.