Pittsburgh Steelers 2018-19 - NFL Season Preview & Future Odds Predictions

The Pittsburgh Steelers finished last season 13-3 but their postseason prematurely ended in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars during the divisional round. The roster remains almost identical to last season and expectations remains high in the Steel City. However, the offensive trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown could be entering its final season, but they should be Super Bowl contenders again this season.

A new offensive coordinator starts with the Steelers this season. Randy Fichtner takes over at OC for the Steelers and will also call the plays. Pittsburgh should be even more efficient this season under Fichtner.

Big Ben will start his 15th year under center for Steelers and is anchored by Le’Veon Bell in the backfield and Antonio Brown at wide receiver. Pittsburgh's Big Three produced big numbers at their respective positions. But the Steelers offense as a whole played poorly in the red zone, evidenced by being No. 18 in the league when it came to converting touchdowns inside the 20-yard line. Roethlisberger, who is 36, may not be as mobile as he once was but his decision making remains amongst the best. Bell is equally dangerous running or receiving out of the backfield and Brown is the league’s best overall wide out. If Bell holds out from Steelkers training camp as he did last season, do not expect as fast a start to the offense, but that will change once he comes up to speed. Pittsburgh's OL is awesome with three out of the five offensive linemen played in the Pro Bowl and are all are excellent at run blocking and protecting Big Ben.

Losing Ryan Shazier during Week 12 hurt the middle of Pittsburgh’s defense last season. The Steelers defense has been rebuilt and looks much deeper and faster. Joe Haden returns and will play opposite Artie Burns. Morgan Burnett was signed from Green Bay and will be a great addition for Pittsburgh at safety.

The defensive focus is stopping the big plays as they were burned far too often last season. At linebacker Steeler's T.J. Watt will start at one outside sport, while Bud Dupree will be opposite him and Anthony Chickillo will see plenty of action filling in for both Dupree and Watt. In the middle, the team will use Jon Bostic and Vince Williams. Bostic will take Shazier’s spot and had a successful season last year with the Colts. The defensive line is nearly identical to last season with Cameron Heyward coming off a Pro Bowl season that included 12 QB sacks.