5 NFL teams that will definitely disappoint fans in 2021

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

Though there is a strong belief on my part that the Cardinals, Broncos and Patriots are setting their respective fans up to be let down this season, that feeling isn’t nearly as strong as it is for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because the Steel City has enjoyed so much success under Mike Tomlin and with Ben Roethlisberger, it feels as if they always expect to retool and get back to the playoffs.

Frankly, this is the end of the line for that. Yes, they brought back JuJu Smith-Schuster. Yes, they used their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on one of the most talented players in the class, running back Najee Harris. Those are fine players. But neither of them is capable of addressing what is actually going to plague the Steelers this season.

Big Ben may have put up big numbers in the playoff loss to Cleveland but his overall body of work from last season was less than inspiring. In the bluntest terms, he looked old and like the things that once made him a special quarterback were now gone. Only making that worse was substandard offensive line play, which is only going to be exacerbated by replacing four starters from last year’s unit largely with unproven commodities.

Make no mistake, the Steelers defense is still going to be among the best in the NFL, maybe the actual best. However, Pittsburgh has to score points if they want to contend, especially with the Ravens and Browns in the AFC North. And with their obvious issues, I’m not sure they’re going to do that with nearly enough consistency.