Expect the Steelers to still be lethal in 2022

By: Jake Rajala

The Pittsburgh Steelers witnessed their long-time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retire this off-season. Well, I still believe the exit of the Steelers legendary QB shouldn’t dismiss their potential progress from last season. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three reasons why the Steelers could still return to the post-season next season.

Improved passing game

Mitchell Trubisky probably won’t lead the Steelers to multiple Super Bowl victories, but I believe he is actually an upgrade over the 2021 version of Big Ben. Trubisky (Pro Bowler in 2018) can utilize the deep-speed of Diontae Johnson and other explosive wideouts better than the Steelers legendary QB that had a career-worst 6.2 Y/A last season (excluding his two-game season in 2019). He is also quietly 25-13 over the past three seasons as a starter.

LB unit

The Steelers nicely inked Myles Jack, who should help a LB unit that has seen Devin Bush struggle in recent years. Jack cracked PFF’s top-32 LB ranking and he should strive to help a defense that already has T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Steelers also made a very underrated pick-up in Brian Flores, as Mike Tomlin was able to essentially get a former, talented HC to sharpen their young LB unit.

Baltimore Ravens

I believe Lamar Jackson (five missed games last season) will return to a potent QB at some point in his career, but I didn’t love the Ravens 2022 outlook. They needed to improve the WR position, yet they traded away Hollywood Brown. Rashod Bateman should elevate his performance and Mark Andrews should be an elite TE, but I believe they didn’t help LJ enough on offense. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Ravens yielded a Top-3 secondary in 2022, but I believe their offensive explosion and overall competitiveness took a step back in the loaded AFC.