Why the Steelers’ offense will average 28 points per game in 2019

In case you didn’t know, the Pittsburgh Steelers will return to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA in exactly 28 days of this article being published. With that, I decided to revive an old series we used to do as a lead up to training camp.

30 predictions in 30 days.

Myself and Simon Chester are alternating days giving a prediction for the upcoming season. Some will be team oriented, while others will be specific to individual players. Either way, read on to see the reason why we think today’s prediction will come to fruition, and why it might not come true. Give your thoughts in the comment section below the article.

Training camp is almost here! Here We Go!

Prediction: The Steelers’ offense will average 28 points per game in 2019.

Why it will happen: The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is a group which under former offensive coordinator Todd Haley would always aim to average 30 points per game. This was a lofty goal, and one not many offensive units achieve on a yearly basis, but the Steelers were always close.

Check out their average PPG by year:

2014: 26.6
2015: 25.4
2016: 24.4
2017: 26.4
2018: 26.8

Clearly, the offense has hovered around the 25 to 27 points per game average in the past five seasons, and a little more diligence by players like Ben Roethlisberger and Chris Boswell could easily have boosted that 26.8 to a higher number last season.

This isn’t a goal of 30 points per game. That goal seems to be too lofty for the vast majority of the NFL, but the goal of 28 points per game certainly seems attainable. Two factors remain for the Steelers to achieve this goal:

• Continue their red-zone success
• A defense that creates more turnovers to get more offensive possessions.

If those two factors can be intact, I see no reason why the Steelers’ offense, even without Antonio Brown, cannot reach that 28 points per game goal in 2019.

Why it won’t happen: It is easy to suggest the Steelers’ offense will stumble without Antonio Brown, and rightfully so. The offense was able to live without Le’Veon Bell under the success of James Conner, but replacing Brown’s on field production will be tough.

Brown finished last season with over 1,200 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.

Think about that last statistic for a second. 15 receiving touchdowns.

When you are talking about reaching a goal of 28 points per game, not only does every point count, but losing 90 total points by Brown is certainly something of note. Many have faith the Steelers will be able to find a way to make plays and score points without Brown in 2019, but it might be more realistic to say they will be closer to the 25 points per game mark than 28 ppg.

What are your thoughts on this prediction? Do you think it will happen? Or are we crazy? Let us know by voting in the poll, and letting your voice be heard in the comment section below!