Absurd Disrespect For The Steelers Continues As NFL Analyst Predicts Franchise To Have Least Amount Of Wins In AFC North

The Pittsburgh Steelers arguably had one of the best offseasons of any team throughout the NFL. The team had an aggressive free agency and many analysts believed the organization had one of, if not, the best draft in the league. Head Coach, Mike Tomlin and his group finished the 2022 season on a four-game win streak, but missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019 at 9-8. With second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett and an expected improved overall team, Pittsburgh has eyes on the playoffs with one of the "easier" schedules in the league for 2023.

While fans of the franchise are stoked for the new season to begin, it's important to note that the Steelers are in one of the tougher divisions in the NFL. Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens are just as good, if not, better than Pittsburgh while the Cleveland Browns get Deshaun Watson at quarterback for an entire season, barring injury.

Steelers Projected Least Amount Of Wins In AFC North

One analyst for the NFL's official website, Cynthia Frelund, used her model to try and predict an average amount of wins that each team is likely to have in the 2023 season. Despite finishing ahead of the Browns in 2022 and a revamped roster, Frelund had the Steelers prediction listed as nine wins, which was the least amount in the division.

"According to my model, the Steelers' most likely record by their Week 6 bye is 2-3. But fear not: They still end up with at least nine wins by Week 17 in 56% of simulations. Remember, we're still months away from the start of the season, so that percentage is actually more significant than it may sound."

With the schedule being released on Thursday evening, it's not hard to connect the dots and say that Frelund's model has Pittsburgh losing to the San Francisco 49ers and Ravens within the first five weeks. It's hard to imagine the team losing to the Browns at home or Houston Texans. The best guess is probably she is assuming a defeat at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.

According to Frelund's model, the Bengals are projected to have 11 total wins. This is a respectable number for the two-time reigning division champs. Next comes the Ravens who have finally figured out long-term plans, extending quarterback, Lamar Jackson. Frelund has the Steelers' rival projected at 9.9 total wins. The Browns came in slightly ahead of Pittsburgh with a number of 9.3.

The Steelers only have three playoff wins since 2011 and the disrespect over the years seems to get more consistent each year. Tomlin still has yet to have a losing season and it's hard to imagine the team staying stagnant with nine wins again in 2023 after improving the roster and having a young signal-caller who thrived in the last month of his rookie season.

The disrespect here specifically comes in relation to the Browns, who have never had a higher position than the Steelers in the AFC North since the division was formed in 2002. With how Pittsburgh's schedule lines up, winning 11 or 12 games is nowhere near out of the question, but Frelund seems to think otherwise and predicts them finishing last in the division.

The season is still roughly four months away, but early predictions having the Steelers in the bottom of the division seem incredibly premature given a strong 2023 offseason by the front office. This may be the first season since 2020 that the team has a legitimate reason to believe that a Divisional Championship is certainly in reach.

Do you think the Steelers will have more than nine wins in 2023? Let us know in the comments below!

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