Steelers Now
NFL.com’s panel of 29 analysts recently projected the division winners and wild card teams for the 2025 season, and a majority of them don’t have the Pittsburgh Steelers making the playoffs.
The Steelers didn’t receive any votes to win the AFC North. Twenty six of the analysts had the Baltimore Ravens winning the division, while three picked the Cincinnati Bengals.
Only six analysts picked the Steelers to make the playoffs. Judy Battista had the Steelers as a fifth seed, while Keegan Abdoo, Grant Gordon and Maurice Jones-Drew had the Black and Gold as a sixth seed. The Steelers got two votes as a seventh seed from Dan Parr and Chad Reuter.
Former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw is bullish on the Ravens this year. As of right now, the Hall of Famer thinks Baltimore has the best shot to win the Super Bowl.
In regard to his former team, Bradshaw thinks the Steelers are not ready to compete with the elite teams in the AFC yet.
“It’s not gonna be the Chiefs. I think Baltimore-Buffalo in the [AFC] Championship Game. I think Baltimore’s gonna get over the hump this year. I’m pulling for Pittsburgh, always will,” Bradshaw said in an interview with Newsweek.
“I don’t think they’re ready yet. Cincinnati, I don’t think their defense is good enough yet. It’s Cincinnati, it’s Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore. Then you’ve got Pittsburgh with Aaron Rodgers. They could shock some people. Don’t hold me to this, I’m going Baltimore.”
The Ravens (+650) currently have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl at BetOnline.ag. The Steelers have the 16th-best odds at +4000.
The Steelers went over their preseason betting total (8.5 wins) in 2024. It was the fifth consecutive season that Tomlin’s squad has gone over the preseason mark. So in that aspect, Tomlin has overachieved. Just having winning seasons is not good for the Steelers faithful, however, and that is understandable. Tomlin needs to start producing in the playoffs. The Steelers have not had an eight-year playoff win drought since pre-1972.
The Steelers haven’t won a Super Bowl since the 2008 season, which was Tomlin’s second year as the team’s head coach.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Many Experts Are Down on Steelers’ Playoff Chances
