The new NFL season kicks off in less than a month, so the clubs across the US are entering the final stage of their preseason preparations. Let’s check out their schedule and take a look at the scheduled beginning of their 2024/2025 season.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers had no answer for rookie C.J. Stroud during their Week 4 matchup, despite Stroud having been sacked 11 times coming into the game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have already played the Houston Texans on August 9 and experienced a 20-12 defeat. This result reflects neither the quality of players in each team nor matches the pre-game predictions. The preseason NFL analysts and pundits had predominantly predicted a balanced game, with either side capable of winning. However, this time most of them were wrong.
The same sources have a pretty similar prediction for the Steelers to win the Super Bowl in the forthcoming season: +5000, making it the 18th most probable team to reach that goal. On the other side, the Texans are the eighth most likely team to get the trophy, with the odds of +1600. Football analysts and betting websites are still tweaking their odds for the 2024 season, in line with the preseason results. What’s more, some of the very best California sports betting platforms as well as New Jersey, Nevada, and several other states are already offering live bets with welcoming bonuses in the wake of the new NFL season.
Nevertheless, the Texans showed more in this game and seem to be in better shape than the Steelers at this moment. Led by CJ Stroud, who finally sealed the match with a touchdown, the Houston team was more aggressive and decisive in their attacking solutions.
On the Steelers’ side, Justin Fields met coach Tomlin’s expectations. With the once Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson still recovering from a calf injury, Fields could easily become the first choice for the quarterback position in the starting lineup. Although Wilson is more experienced and came only a few months ago from the Broncos, he’s yet to fight for his place under the Pittsburgh sun.
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The preseason moves on and the Steelers have two more opportunities to improve their shape before the 2024/2025 season kicks off.
Their next prep match is against the Buffalo Bills on August 17 at their home Acrisure Stadium. Their last notable match was in the previous season’s Wild Card playoffs when the Bills won (31-17). They moved on to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Playoffs and lost 27-24 in a tight match. The Chiefs later won the Super Bowl. Now they have a chance to take the first NFL threepeat in history.
Back to the Steelers and Bills warmup: as announced by coach Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson is most probable to start this match. In the match against the Texans, most of the time the second lineup was in the field. Many coaches use the first preseason game for this purpose: to see how certain players work together and gauge their shape at that moment. The second game is something different: typically only two games away from season debut, now it’s time for strategic tweaking.
Having recovered from his calf injury, Wilson will take his place under center on Saturday. Despite the positive feedback that Field received after his performance against the Texans, not everything in his delivery was ideal. He was sacked twice, which reminded the pundits of his 135 sacks in 40 games since 2021.
Wilson isn’t much better in those stats, as he’s undergone 133 sacks in 44 matches.
In defensive terms, Cameron Heyward remains the most prominent football player on the Steelers' side of the field. He is expected to organize his younger colleagues in line with his previous results and experience, which means loads of stamina, collaboration, and support for a fast transition.
The Steelers will play the last game of this year’s NFL preseason against the Detroit Lions on August 24, at Ford Field Stadium in Detroit. The finalists of the NFC Championship last January, which they lost to the later Super Bowl runners-up San Francisco 49ers, the Lions are the right measure for the Steelers at this moment.
As the game will be played in Detroit, Wilson, Field, Heyward & Co. will have a chance to rehearse for their first two matches of the official season (at Atlanta and Denver). It’s also an opportunity for Steelers fans among punters to place a wager on their favorite team and practice for the new season, through local Pittsburgh betting parlors, online platforms, or crypto gambling sites.
Led by Jared Goff and David Montgomery, the Lions will test the Steelers' defense, while their sturdy defensive unit will help Wilson and Field see where they are at this moment.
At the season’s start, the Steelers will premiere before their fans on September 8 against the Atlanta Falcons. By that time, we’ll all have more insights and information about the real possibilities of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the new NFL season.
