Unpopular Opinion: The Steelers will be a top tier passing offense in 2025

When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment has been born… Unpopular opinion.

There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the majority of fans. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.

Next up is the Steelers passing offense taking a big step this season…

The Steelers will be a top tier passing offense in 2025

This week’s submission comes from a comment/suggestion for last week’s article. I had to make an easier title for the article/podcast, so I thought I’d share the original post from Renan as it will be what I’m addressing:

Next week’s possibly unpopular opinion: The Steelers will throw for more touchdowns than the Ravens, Chiefs, and Bills, assuming Rodgers plays like he did in the second half of last season.

Rather than answer the main question of the Steelers being a top-tier passing offense, I’m specifically answering the question brought by Renan. In order to see how the Steelers would do against these specific teams, it’s important to know where they are coming from. Last year the Steelers had 21 passing touchdowns as a team. The Steelers new quarterback for 2025, Aaron Rodgers, had 28 passing touchdowns for the New York Jets who had 31 passing touchdowns as a team.

When looking specifically at the three teams listed, the one with the fewest passing touchdowns in 2024 was the Kansas City Chiefs. They finished the regular season with 26 passing touchdowns, the 11th most in the NFL. If the Chiefs were post the same number, I think it is very possible for the Steelers to surpass them in passing touchdowns.

The next most passing touchdowns from these three teams was the Buffalo Bills with 30 passing touchdowns. To me, this is right there on the cusp of what the Steelers could do in 2025. So if Buffalo is right around the same amount, I think the Steelers could be a team that throws more passing touchdown.

Then there’s the Ravens.

Last year, the Ravens were tied for the second most passing touchdowns in the NFL with 41. That’s right, I said 41 passing touchdowns. That is significantly more than I expected with the Ravens having the NFL’s second best rushing attack.

If the Ravens are going for 40 or more passing touchdowns again in 2025, I’ll think the Steelers can do this. But I could also see the Ravens not having as many and being closer to the 30–35 range. If that’s the case, then I think the Steelers could have more passing touchdowns than all three of these teams.

But I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing if they do.

Looking at the team that led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2025, the Cincinnati Bengals with 43, they had to do so because they had a poorest defense and had to score an immense amount of points in order to win games. I don’t see this being the Steelers’ goal in 2025, so if they’re getting into shootouts or constantly being behind late games, it’s not a good scenario for them to be throwing the ball so much.

What I would like to see is the Steelers having a better offense in the first quarter of games. This very well could be passing offense and the Steelers could put up good numbers. Is that going to be enough to be 40 passing touchdowns? I don’t think so. But I would much rather see the Steelers being a first half passing team and getting a lead and then being a second half running team.

Another possibility would be the Steelers not having an effective running game at all. If that’s the case, things are not going according to plan. For this reason, I think the Steelers are capable of having more passing touchdowns than those three AFC teams, but I don’t think actually achieving such a thing would be beneficial.

To hear the latest Unpopular Opinion podcast, check it out in the player below. Be sure to check back for this podcast every Sunday morning during the Steelers offseason.