30 Scenarios in 30 Days: The Steelers will have a winning record in the AFC North
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 have a winning record in the AFC North
Why it will happen: The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in one of the toughest divisions in all of football, and most would say they are clearly the top division in both the AFC and NFC. So, with six games encompassed by those divisional foes, you would have to think it would be tough sledding for the Steelers.
Think again.
The Steelers have had a tremendous amount of success in recent years in the division, and to try and keep things as current as possible here are the last four seasons of the Steelers divisional record:
- 2021: 4-2
- 2022: 3-3
- 2023: 5-1
- 2024: 3-3
How have the Steelers done vs. division opponents all-time? Try a 94-43-1 record.
People can criticize the Steelers, and Mike Tomlin, all day and night if they so choose, but you can’t deny his ability to have his team ready for divisional opponents. When most people view the Ravens as the cream of the crop, considering they won the division the last two years, the Steelers certainly have been able to do well vs. the Ravens in the Lamar Jackson era. He’s just one player, but it is indicative of the Steelers success over the division.
Last season the Steelers finished at 3-3, and to get a winning record would require a sweep of a division foe. Who will that be, if this comes to fruition? I’ll take the low hanging fruit of them sweeping the Browns and splitting with the Bengals and Ravens to finish 4-2.
Why it won’t happen: The 2023 season’s 5-1 record was sweet, but was it also smoke-and-mirrors? Of the five wins in the division that year, only two of them came against the opponent’s starting quarterback, and the loss came against the Browns’ third string signal caller in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Steelers beat the Ravens’ back-ups in horrible conditions to finish out the regular season, and didn’t have to face Joe Burrow once after he was lost for the season with a wrist injury.
Last season was more indicative of what fans can expect in the AFC North, and even though the Browns quarterback situation remains in flux, you can expect hard fought games in those contests.
Nothing comes easy in the NFL, and if the starting quarterbacks around the division stay healthy again this year, it will be a much tougher task in 2025 compared to previous seasons.
Prediction: While I think the Steelers will have a winning record, I don’t think they’ll match the 5-1 of the 2023 season. As stated earlier, I see the Steelers finishing 4-2 in the division. This means they’ll have to sweep a team, and I’ll go with the Steelers sweeping the Browns as the reason for the winning record.
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 Steelers will go above and beyond their win-loss prediction in 2025
The Steelers will throw more INTs than last season
The Steelers will eclipse 50 sacks in 2025
The Steelers Defense Will Have More Takeaways This Season
Aaron Rodgers will start all 17 games in 2025
DK Metcalf Will Have Double-Digit Receiving TDs
T.J. Watt will break the single-season sack record
The Steelers Will Rush For More Than 2000 Yards In 2025
