30 Scenarios in 30 Days: The Steelers will go above and beyond their win-loss prediction in 2025
The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the 2025 regular season, but before the real games begin, the team has to head to training camp back at Saint Vincent College in order to fine tune their skills. As we here at SCN prepare you for the start of camp, we give you a series called “30 Scenarios in 30 Days” which gives you a Steelers scenario every day leading up to the start of camp.
It is simple how it works. We provide you the scenario, reasons why it will or won’t happen, and then our prediction for what we think will take place.
Let’s get to the scenario…
Scenario: The Steelers will go above and beyond their win-loss prediction in 2025 (8.5 wins)
Why it will happen: Mike Tomlin is the head coach, and while others are not crazy about him getting a 3-year extension he is a really good coach. Say what you want about his non-losing season streak, but it speaks to him being able to bring even the not-so-great rosters he has coached and helped them remain relevant.
On top of the coaching, Tomlin also has one of the best rosters he has coached in several years. Some might say the last time he had a roster with this much talent, on both sides of the ball, was back in 2017 before Ryan Shazier’s tragic injury. I don’t know if I’ll go that far, but you can’t ignore the roster the front office and Omar Khan have put together. It puts pressure on Tomlin and company to succeed, but barring injury you can’t look back and say there was a lack of talent required to win 9 games.
It’s another year with the Steelers line being 8.5 games, and even with the difficult AFC North and NFC North on the docket, it is difficult for me to bet against them. When all is said and done, I feel the Steelers will again be well on their way to winning 9 games, at the minimum.
Why it won’t happen: Injuries are always going to be a reason why a team would fall short of their projected win totals, but the Steelers’ brutal schedule is another reason why they might slip up and deliver Tomlin’s first losing season of his coaching tenure. While everyone wants to point to the brutal schedule, every NFL team has a challenging schedule.
Starting fresh with new coaches and players, especially at the most important positions, can equate in a lot of growing pains for a team. Most are expecting a winning season and a playoff berth, but there are plenty of reasons to believe the team could also slip up and stumble their way to mediocrity. And when I say mediocrity I’m referring to only winning 8 games, or worse.
Prediction: The Steelers schedule is tough. There is no doubt about that, but I feel this roster is built to withstand the barrage of their 18-game regular season slate of games. There is only one thing which can derail this season, in my opinion, and it’s injury. Injuries to any players like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Aaron Rodgers and/or DK Metcalf could be a death knell for the team.
Assuming injuries don’t devastate the team, I’m going to say the Steelers win 10 games this season, make the playoffs, and make those who took the OVER of 8.5 wins look like geniuses. Could I be wrong? I’ve been wrong plenty in my life, but in this specific scenario I’m going to go with the Steelers doing enough to surpass to expectations the sportsbooks have placed on them in 2025.
Miss a scenario? You can see the full list of scenarios below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for training camp.
The payout worsened for the UNDER (-130) and increased for the OVER (+110), after AARod signed. 47.6% chance to win 9+ games, 56.5% chance to win 8 or fewer games.
I think you have to look at the roster and say is this team better or worse than in 2024. I think they are better. How much better will depend on Aaron Rodgers.
I hate that the Steelers’ recent fate is tied so closely to an unknown performance at QB. I can’t imagine that AR8 will give worse play than Trubisky, Pickett, Rudolph, or Wilson. It might be as bad but not worse. So, if I start with the premise that QB improves it means the offense improves and the defense has improved its roster as well. Special Teams should be top 10 so I can’t see how this team doesn’t start with a floor of 9 wins and a ceiling of 11 wins. I think it is that close.
That’s how I see it, too.
I love that picture. If it was a high school team, I would assume that two JV players got some playing time with the varsity squad.
I’m looking for 10+ wins.
a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan, since the 70’s all the sports media groups and Steelers haters with their rat poison are idiots they said Russell Wilson was suppose to take the Steelers to a super bowl victory and look what happen and now all the sports media groups and Steelers haters are saying that Aaron Rodgers is suppose to take the Steelers to a super bowl victory not! Mike Tomlin biggest mistake was let Justin Field walk or not keeping Mason Rudolph stay the Steelers starting quarterback and given it to Aaron Rodgers it’s going to be a nightmare 2025 season
Enough sugarcoating, Ed. There’s a silver lining here.
I’m okay with the all-or-nothing aspects of the coming season. Ideally, Rodgers stays healthy and the Steelers qualify for the playoffs — perhaps even advancing beyond the initial round.
But if Rodgers gets hurt again and misses a substantial number of games, the team probably doesn’t have the quarterback talent to go very far. But even if Rodgers should miss multiple games, there might still be a silver lining. If rookie Will Howard is able to get some opportunities to demonstrate he’s a potential, starting QB, the 2025 season might still end on a positive note.
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. I’ll remember.