It’s been a while since the Pittsburgh Steelers were a legit threat to go the distance and win the Super Bowl.
Ben Roethlisberger‘s downfall was hard to watch, and their offense had been out of sync for years.
Of course, they had one of the strongest defensive units in the National Football League, as well as an elite coach that has yet to have a losing season in charge of the team.
But from that, to be a contender, even in their own division, that’s a long stretch.
At least, that’s what former Steelers and Bills executive Doug Whaley seems to think right now.
Per Whaley, Joe Burrow‘s presence makes it quite tough for the Steelers to go back to ruling their division, stating that there’s still ‘a lot of work to be done,’ for the organization.
“Joe Burrow had three of his offensive linemen out. Three of his starting offensive linemen. If you took three of the starting offensive linemen off the Pittsburgh Steelers, would they be able to go into Buffalo, in that hostile environment, with everything surrounding that Buffalo team, and be able to blanket them like the Cincinnati Bengals? That’s all you have to say right there,” Whaley said on The Morning Show.
Just how far away are the #Steelers from playing in the divisional round? Doug Whaley tells us.
Full hour: https://t.co/TY929hCJFW pic.twitter.com/RkgUvLZTJI
— The Fan Morning Show (@FanMorningShow) January 24, 2023
Whaley cited the talent gap at the quarterback position as one of the main reasons why the Steelers may not be able to compete at the highest level right now.
While he didn’t knock on Kenny Pickett, and he did finish the season way better than he started it, it might take a while before he’s ready to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and the aforementioned Burrow, if ever.
There were plenty of doubts regarding Pickett as a franchise quarterback, and it seems like they’re not going anywhere offensively unless they let OC Matt Canada go.
But even if Pickett turns out to be as good as they expect him to be, they might still need to add more pieces around him before being ready to compete.
