Next week begins our fifth year of operation and that means we introduce a plethora of new posts and one of those posts is our first ever Sports themed post simply titled Sports!
A sports themed post where we will use this to talk about the biggest sporting events, give predictions for the NFL season ahead, also talk about some NBA, MLB, and NHL news all throughout the new post.
You’ll be able to see the new posts every Thursday here on The Reviewing Network but today, we’re gonna give you a sneak preview of what to expect from the new post.
And since I live in Pittsburgh and we’re reaching the start of the 2017 NFL season next week, let’s take a look at the 2017 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After just barely getting back to the Super Bowl this year, the Steelers have the benefit of keeping a good majority of their weapons from last season with the exception of Lawrence Timmons, Jarvis Jones, Marcus Wheaton, and Shamarko Thomas who have gone to the Dolphins, Cardinals, Bears and Jets respectively. But as long as you have Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and the return of Martavis Bryant, you have a pretty damn good offensive line that can be very threatening.
The defense, which got better in the second half of the season, is a bit of a question mark right now in the preseason but I’m remaining optimistic and I really do believe that the Steelers can not only make another deep playoff run but could make it to the Super Bowl, this is probably the most optimistic year this team has in a number of years, mostly thanks to the fact that the AFC isn’t as highly stacked as the NFC is right now. In the AFC, the top teams seem to be the New England Patriots, Steelers, and the Oakland Raiders, those are the three that seem to be locked for the postseason already and then there’s the Tennessee Titans who are looking really strong and could finally unseat the Houston Texans for the AFC South title but other than that, the wildcard spots this year are wide open this year.
But we’ll talk about the other NFL teams when Sports! premieres next week but let’s look at the 2017 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers week by week to see where they will rank this year in the postseason:
WEEK 1: CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-0)
With the return of Le’Veon Bell slated for week 1 and the fact that Ben Roethlisberger has had a better winning record at Cleveland at 10 – 2 since he came into the league in 2004, it’s not gonna surprise me if the Steelers win this one easily even if this ends up being much closer than we expect it to be.
DeShone Kizer is set to be the starting QB and he’s been good so far this preseason but at the same time, you’re starting a rookie QB early in his career and this is the Browns, who have had 26 different starting quarterbacks since their return in 1999, even if it’s close, I’m giving the Steelers the win.
WEEK 2: MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-0)
The first home regular season game since the death of Steelers owner Dan Rooney in April, it’s gonna be one heck of a game where the fans will be pumped and anticipating a big win here and the Minnesota Vikings’ team is not as strong as it was a year before or hell, the last two times they’ve played them. This one should be a big win for the Steelers bringing them to 2-0.
WEEK 3: CHICAGO BEARS (3-0)
I’m pegging this one down as a potential trap game, meaning a game that seems like a winner for one team but then, the other team ends up winning. The Chicago Bears are not too promising this year with Mike Glennon set to be the starting QB as of this post date, even though the last time Glennon faced the Steelers when he was a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, their team won on a last second touchdown. Glennon seems to have gotten better over the years watching the preseason games but the attention is on overall #2 draft pick this year, quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who has been one of the big surprises for the team this year and for all we know, Trubisky could end up being the starter by the time the Steelers arrive in Soldier Field.
Also, the Steelers haven’t won against the Chicago Bears since December 2005 in Jerome Bettis’ final season so there’s cause for concern here. I’m still going to give the Steelers a win here to take them to 3-0 but don’t be surprised if this is the trap game for the team this year.
WEEK 4: BALTIMORE RAVENS (3-1)
After a big Christmas win at home in Pittsburgh, the Steelers travel to M&T Bank Stadium again and this is more than likely going to be where the team has their first loss of the season seeing as how the last time the Steelers beat the Ravens at their home was in 2012 and that was with Charlie Batch as the quarterback. The Ravens team this year should be about as good as they were last year but if the Steelers can somehow pull out a win in Baltimore, that would be impressive but for now, I’m giving the Ravens the win here and the Steelers suffer their first loss of the year.
WEEK 5: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-1)
But the Steelers will rebound big time next week when Jacksonville comes to Heinz Field. If there was a team that was as close to being screwed this year, other than the New York Jets, is the Jaguars. Keeping Blake Bortles as the starting quarterback after he has already proven to not be the answer for the Jaguars. The rest of the team shows potential but you need to have a better QB ready to go and I have no idea what they see in Blake Bortles because so far this year, he has not been a good QB at all. And you’re playing at Heinz Field too, the Steelers will win this one easily, no question.
WEEK 6: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (5-1)
A rematch of the AFC Divisional game in Kansas City, the Chiefs still have some of their weapons from that game in January but lost several of their big weapons like Dontari Poe to the Falcons, Jamaal Charles to the Broncos, and Spencer Ware who’s reportedly done for the season after tearing his ACL in the Seahawks week 3 preseason game on Friday. I think the Steelers will have enough there to eek out a win here and take them to 5-1.
WEEK 7: CINCINNATI BENGALS (6-1)
Cincinnati lost a lot of their big players on the offensive live including Rex Burkhead, who has gone to the Patriots and Rey Maualuga, who has gone to the Dolphins. The team overall is just not capable enough to be a considerable threat for the division as it was a few years ago. The Steelers should easily win this one to take them to 6-1.
WEEK 8: DETROIT LIONS (7-1)
Some are pegging this one to be the trap game for the Steelers but the Lions were not that bad of a team last year. Up until Matthew Stafford got injured, he was actually pretty good and the Lions still has people who can make plays on the team so I expect this one to be a much closer bout than most people make it out to be. I do think the Steelers win this one but it should be a much closer affair.
WEEK 9: BYE WEEK
At 7-1, the Steelers have the best record at the bye since 2004 when they were 5-1 at the bye.
WEEK 10: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-1)
Let’s put the recent preseason win over the Steelers aside, the Colts in the regular season have gotten beaten by the Steelers on a consistent basis. In the last three years the Colts have played the Steelers, the Steelers have outscored the Colts by a score of 124-52 and that’s even with Andrew Luck playing in the 2014 contest since the Steelers played backups in 2015 and 2016. I really think the Colts lose this one to the Steelers easily.
WEEK 11: TENNESSEE TITANS (9-1)
This will be a real test not just for the Steelers but for the Tennessee Titans, who are widely projected to win the division this year with a much better offense and defense put together. It’s a chance for the Steelers to see an upgraded team in action that they may very well end up meeting up with again in the postseason. It’ll be a close matchup on Thursday night, which by the way this is the first of four (potentially five) primetime games for the Steelers in a row, but the Steelers should pull out the win here.
WEEK 12: GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-2)
Easily the most anticipated game of the season for me, a rematch of Super Bowl XLV and what could’ve been the matchup for Super Bowl LI this year and might very well be the matchup for Super Bowl LII this year if things go according to plan.
If everybody is healthy, this is gonna be an epic matchup between Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers at the peaks of their careers and should end up being a very good matchup that could potentially go into overtime. I’m saying the Packers will win this one in a close game and hand the Steelers only their second loss of the season.
WEEK 13: CINCINNATI BENGALS (10-2)
The Steelers will usually come back and be much better after a loss and traveling to Cincinnati a week after Green Bay, I think the Steelers will end up winning this one at Paul Brown Stadium even if it’s a close matchup and by this point if things go that way, the Steelers should have enough their to get a playoff spot if they win.
WEEK 14: BALTIMORE RAVENS (11-2)
It only makes sense that a potential division clinching game would have to be against the Ravens after the Christmas Day thriller last year. While I don’t expect this one to be as exciting or thrilling as that one was, this should be a good one where the Steelers get their revenge on the Ravens for the loss earlier in the year and get a win and should clinch the division again.
WEEK 15: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-3)
Another big game for the season, I was wondering when the schedule was announced why the hell the Patriots would come to Heinz Field so late in the season in December, a month where the Steelers have been really good in the last few years but then I realized, it’s actually a good thing when you really think about it.
The Steelers should have their division clinched and a playoff spot clinched too by this point. But at the same time, they’ve gotta figure out a way to beat the Patriots, something that they have not been able to do since 2011 when they beat the Pats 25 – 17 in Heinz Field. That’s gotta change especially since it’s more than likely that it’s going to be Brady vs. Roethlisberger again in the AFC Championship game.
As of right now, I am giving the win to the Patriots because they will find some way to get the win but at the same time, let’s remember that Julian Edelman, Brady’s top target is done for the year and also let’s not forget about the Madden Curse and guess who happens to be on the cover this year, Tom Brady, so there’s a slim chance that the Steelers might not even have to face Brady this year if something bad happens to him between now and mid December.
As of now, the Pats get the win and the Steelers have only their third loss of the year.
WEEK 16: HOUSTON TEXANS (12-3)
With Hurricane Harvey just hitting this weekend, I’m wondering if NRG Stadium will be in operation for the season or if we’ll end up having a repeat of what happened to the Saints in 2005 where the Texans had to go to another city to play their season.
The game itself should be an interesting matchup considering that the Watt brothers will be playing on opposite sides of the field as J.J. is on the Texans and first round draft pick T.J. is on the Steelers. It’ll be a good matchup and one that I think the Steelers will pull out a win on.
WEEK 17: CLEVELAND BROWNS (13-3)
The last game of the season and it would not surprise me if the Steelers play the backups like last year depending on the outcome of the postseason bracket. If the Steelers need to win this game to potentially have the best record of the AFC and have the #1 seed in the playoffs, a bye week, and home field advantage, then you will more than likely have the Steelers starters playing.
Regardless, the Steelers should end up winning this one against the Browns and setting themselves up in excellent position in the postseason, if things go in the right direction.
FINAL PREDICTIONS: 13-3
The Steelers have enough potential this year to have their best record since 2004’s 15-1 season. The motivation for the team is definitely there with a lot of their best players still there, the thoughts of winning the Super Bowl for their late owner Dan Rooney, and Ben Roethlisberger coming to the end of his long prolific career, things are all pointing in the Steelers direction going into this season and if everything falls into place, the Steelers should have their best chance to going for Super Bowl ring #7 that they’ve had in years.
That is just a sneak preview of what the new Sports! post will be.
Check back on Thursday September 7th for the Sports! premiere post where I’ll run down my predictions for the rest of the NFL going into the 2017 season including my predictions for the postseason and the Super Bowl.
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