The Pittsburgh Steelers will win at least 10 games in 2019

With 25 days to go until the start of training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, we continue our 30 prediction in 30 days series with another bold claim for 2019.

Alternating daily between myself and BTSC Editor Jeff Hartman, we will offer our predictions for the upcoming season. Some will be team oriented, while others will be specific to individual players. Posing an argument for and against our predictions, we invite you to weigh in on the debate as well.

Following on from Jeff’s claim that the Steelers will record 50 sacks in 2019 on Saturday, I turn my attention to the team’s win/loss total for the upcoming season.

Prediction: The Steelers will win at least 10 games in 2019

Why it will happen: Off all the predictions I will make this offseason, there are none I am more confident in that this one. No matter how many times I look at the Steelers 2019 schedule, I consistently struggle to find more than six teams likely to beat Pittsburgh.

Among the the games I can see Steelers losing are their Week 1 game in New England, a Week 6 matchup with the Chargers in Los Angeles, at home against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10, on the road versus the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 and a Week 17 matchup with the Ravens in Baltimore. Beyond those five games, I have thrown in one more as a wildcard to be generous, possibly the Week 3 trip to San Francisco or the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Perhaps the tinting on my Black and Gold glasses is blinding me to the truth, but I see nothing in the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills or New York Jets to scare Pittsburgh. In their last 5 games against each of these teams, the Steelers are a combined 26-4, and nothing that has happen this offseason suggests any of them have closed the gap significantly enough to represent a challenge this year.

Assuming those contests result in seven wins (Bengals twice), splitting the series with the Browns and Ravens gets them to nine, needing just one win against the 49ers or Seahawks in the opening few weeks to make it to 10.

In all honesty, I see 11 or 12 wins a definite possibility, but the stars might need to align just right for that to happen.

Why it won’t happen: If not for some errant kicks from Chris Boswell in 2018, Pittsburgh would easily have recorded 11 wins last year. Errors like that will doom the Steelers once again in 2019, as will injuries.

Some might suggest I am underestimating the talents of the Bengals or the potential of the Browns, but what do you expect when you watch Pittsburgh win 21 of the last 24 games they have played against both teams.

While this space is meant to be reserved for reasons why my prediction will not happen, I am so convinced it will that I have am nothing else to add here. I will leave it to the readers to tell me what I am missing.

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!