Pittsburgh Steelers - 2019 Season Preview & Predictions

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 season played out like a soap opera, with plenty of drama and failed to qualify for the postseason as a result. The conflict between veteran QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Antonio Brown ended up with Brown being shipped to the Raiders for a 3rd round and a 5th round pick. Twenty-two year old WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is more than capable of being the top option in the passing game, after catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards a season ago.

Pittsburgh also lost RB Le’Veon Bell in free agency to New York, after he sat out all of last season looking for a long-term deal. James Conner and Jaylen Samuels both proved that they could handle the load behind a solid offensive line. While it might not be the Steel Curtain of years past, the Steelers possess one of the most underrated defenses in football. Pittsburgh ranked sixth in yards allowed and gave up just 22.5 points on average last season. The Steelers moved up ten spots in the first round of the NFL Draft to select Michigan LB Devin Bush, who is expected to fill the huge void left by injured LB Ryan Shazier.

Defensive ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are a big reason why Pittsburgh has one of the top lines in the league. The weakness is in the secondary, where CB Joe Haden will be counted on to be the leader.