Pittsburgh Steelers: Game-by-game predictions for 2021 season

Week 15: vs. Tennessee Titans

No one is talking about how much the Titans lost this offseason. Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Jonnu Smith were all lost during free agency, as were their top three cornerbacks on defense. While Bud Dupree and Denico Autry are fine additions to boost their dreadful pass rush, it seems that their defensive problems could essentially flip flop this year, with their pass rush being better and their secondary getting worse.

While I love the addition of Caleb Farley, they will be relying on a lot of young players in the defensive backfield.

This could be the last great Ben Roethlisberger game we see. Sure, he can, and likely will, play well for the rest of the season, but in terms of big numbers, this could very well be the final big statistical game we see him put up. I expect a big day for the Steelers offense as they get the win.

Final Prediction: Steelers 34, Titans 17

Week 16: at Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes’ coming out party, more or less, came against Pittsburgh in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season when he threw for 326 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-37 win. We all know how great the Chiefs are. They are a pick your poison team offensively, and their front seven on defense is one of the more underrated groups in football. They will put up points nearly every week, but the Steelers ability to get pressure on Mahomes will help them immensely.

In a late-season bout like this, a lot of it comes down to your quarterback. The CHiefs have the best quarterback on planet Earth, and Big Ben is an aging gunslinger who could be running out of gas at this point in the season. The Steelers will obviously try their best to keep up on the scoreboard but trying to go tick for tack with the Chiefs is a near-impossible task.

Final Prediction: Chiefs 35, Steelers 24

Week 17: vs. Cleveland Browns

This game could very well be for the division, depending on how well the Browns play up to this point. The Steelers will be looking to avenge their loss in Cleveland from earlier in the year, and the last thing any team wants is to play an angry Steelers team at Heinz Field in December.

I do believe these teams split the season series but don’t expect the Browns to just roll over; this will be a tough game. From the Myles Garrett incident from 2019 to the “Browns is the Browns” comment from JuJu Smith-Schuster prior to last season’s Wild Card Round matchup, there is bad blood between these two teams. The Steelers win a hard-hitting, throwback AFC North style game.

Final Prediction: Steelers 17, Browns 14

Week 18: at Baltimore Ravens

It feels fitting that these two should end their respective seasons by facing one another. This is another game that could see the winner take the division title. Per my previous points about Baltimore, I don’t think they are a legitimate threat due to all the pieces they lost this off-season, along with Lamar Jackson’s limitations when it comes to his arm.

Pittsburgh won both games in this rivalry last season, and I think we see another sweep this season as they punch a ticket to the playoffs.

Final Prediction: Steelers 27, Ravens 18

Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Final Record Prediction: 11-6

The Steelers are still a great team with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. Their receiving corps is among the best in the NFL, they added the best running back in the 2021 NFL Draft class, and their defense, while they lost a few pieces in the secondary, is still one of the finest the league has to offer.

Expect one more push at a Super Bowl from Ben Roethlisberger in what is likely to be his swan song as a Pittsburgh Steeler.