Pittsburgh Steelers: Game-by-game predictions for 2021 season
Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos
Denver’s defense has gotten a lot better this offseason. They gave safety Justin Simmons a long-term extension and also added cornerbacks Kyle Fuller via free agency and Patrick Surtain II through the draft. Denver’s biggest question mark, though, is their quarterback dilemma. Drew Lock hasn’t panned out to what they were hoping, leading the Broncos to trade for Teddy Bridgewater.
The Steelers’ front seven should be able to get home a good amount and apply pressure throughout. The one thing that could come back to haunt them is the vast array of receiving talent the Broncos have at their disposal. This will be a very telling game in terms of how good the Steelers secondary is. That said, I don’t think the Broncos offense will be able to put up enough points to get the job done; Pittsburgh wins a lower-scoring game.
Final Prediction: Steelers 20, Broncos 13
Week 6: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Any time Russell Wilson and co. come to town, you know nothing will come easy. The Seahawks offensive arsenal of Wilson, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett is one of the best trios in the league. That said, the offensive line woes still plague the Seahawks. The Steelers will be able to get pressure on WIlson, which is a tried-and-true way to beating the Seahawks.
Pittsburgh should be able to keep up with the Seahawks in terms of points. Seattle’s defense is a far cry from the legion of boom, and the array of Pittsburgh’s weapons should be able to put up a fair amount of points. On top of that, the Steelers pass rush is phenomenal, and the Seahawks offensive line is… not. I think Pittsburgh’s pass rush is the biggest factor in a Pittsburgh win at Heinz Field.
Final Prediction: Steelers 28, Seahawks 24
Week 7: Bye | Week 8: at Cleveland Browns
This is turning into the Steelers-Browns rivalry of the 1970s and 80s. The Browns are a good football team, which is something that sounded like a hopeless pipe dream in 2017. Cleveland is the best team in the AFC North on paper and will be able to split the series with Pittsburgh, at minimum.
The biggest issue Pittsburgh could face is Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney off the edge. Both tackle positions are very boom or bust, which could end up costing them against teams with good pass rushes. Although Pittsburgh is coming off the bye, the game being in Cleveland has me leaning toward the Browns in the first matchup between the two teams.
Final Prediction: Browns 23, Steelers 18
Week 9: vs. Chicago Bears
The biggest question here is “Will Justin Fields be the starter?” If I had to guess, I’d say yes. While I believe Fields will be good, he doesn’t exactly have much around him. He has Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney…and that’s about it. Pittsburgh’s defense should be more than capable of handling Chicago’s offense led by the rookie quarterback.
The Steelers offense has the advantage over the Bears defense in this game, as well. The Bears let go of Kyle Fuller for seemingly no reason, which weakened their secondary. I think Pittsburgh rebounds after two straight losses and gets back in the win column.
Final Prediction: Steelers 31, Bears 16