Steelers 2023 Success Was Easy To Predict According To ESPN's Brooke Pryor

The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the 2023 preseason with two convincing wins. The first-team offense has moved the ball at will. Calvin Austin III looks precisely like the weapon that Steeler Nation hoped he would be on the gridiron. Kenny Pickett has taken an undeniable step forward. The defense looks fantastic, and rookies Joey Porter Jr. and Nick Herbig look like stars.

It is easy to get caught up in a fantastic preseason. The Steelers' offense has not looked this good since Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell were making plays together. The hyperbole machine has kicked into full gear, with ESPN and NFL Network personalities piling on the Pittsburgh bandwagon.

Former Steelers Safety Ryan Clark Stuns NFL With His Assertion 

On Tuesday, Brooke Pryor, the reporter assigned by ESPN to cover the Pittsburgh Steelers, appeared on The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller. In particular, ESPN has been piling on the pro-Steelers hype over the last week with Ryan Clark's bold statement about George Pickens being more talented than Justin Jefferson. Pryor told Andrew Fillipponi that the once lonely bandwagon new passengers did not surprise her in the least. 

“I think I have always been high on the Steelers' outlook for this season,” Pryor said. “I look at on paper the way this team is built. The things that usually happen when a quarterback goes into his second year. Not having the turnover and uncertainty that this locker room had last year. I was always surprised that the general consensus was down on the Steelers this season.”

The recent rush to anoint the Steelers as the dark horse to return to the AFC playoffs is fun to watch as a fan of the black and gold. The Steelers entered training camp as the popular pick to finish in the AFC North basement for the first time since it was called the AFC Central in 1988. The first two preseason games have put a dent in that kind of talk nationally. 

"I thought that they would be a playoff team and I still think that,” Pryor added. “I think this is just confirming what I thought that they are, I don’t want to say ahead of schedule because you don’t want to put tons of stock in the preseason, but the things I put stock in are all things that do carryover.”

Some prognosticators are attempting to cover the egg on their faces by shifting predictions that the entire AFC North will make the playoffs. The division is talented, but it has never happened in NFL history. Even with the possibility of seven teams in the playoffs, it will likely be a rare occurrence in a loaded AFC. 

Pryor cautioned Fillipponi, the president of the Pickett fan club, that the preseason is exactly that. The results should be considered potential predictors of success in 2023, but are not a rock-solid basis for how the season will unfold. No matter how badly anyone wants them to be, they will be a distant memory a month from now. 

“I am ready for a regular season game and for things to really matter,” Pryor concludes. “You can drive yourself crazy picking apart and reading the tea leaves of the preseason. The reality is it’s not going to matter in the long run. The slate is wiped clean after Thursday.”

The Steelers have a tall task on the opening weekend of 2023. Pittsburgh will host the NFC Championship game runners-up, the San Francisco 49ers, in a little less than three weeks. It will be a solid gauge of where the team is when they host Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan. It will present a significant test for one of the highest paid defenses in the NFL.

The 49ers have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The young Pittsburgh offense and Pickett will be facing what might be their toughest test in all of 2023. The Steelers will have the opportunity to announce to the NFL just how far they have come since the midway point of 2022.

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Pryor right? Will this all be a distant memory by the middle of September? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq. 

#SteelerNation