On March 25 DraftKings Sportbook released the over/unders on win totals for teams across the NFL. The number they came up with for the Pittsburgh Steelers was surprisingly low.
The Steelers win total opened at just 7.5 wins.
The number was actually lower than last season, which was unexpected after the improvements the team made during this year’s offseason.
After just one day, the line has already made a significant move.
The Steelers’ win total has moved up to 8.5 games on DraftKings Sportsbook one day after the line opened.
Steelers Hit the Over in 2023
8.5 games is where the Steelers’ 2023 win total settled at the start of last season.
At the time, there was some major uncertainty about the team’s quarterback situation. Kenny Pickett had struggled as a rookie and although there was hope he was going to improve in his second year, there was no guarantee he would get better.
They also still had Matt Canada as their offensive coordinator despite many calls for the Steelers to move on from him after two seasons.
Unfortunately, Pickett didn’t get any better. Canada didn’t either.
The team ended up letting Canada go in the middle of the season, but their issues on offense didn’t get much better until they inserted Mason Rudolph into the starting lineup.
Rudolph ended up surprisingly leading the team above the 8.5 win total with a three-game win streak to close out the regular season.
The team overcame some major issues in 2023 to go over their win total in 2023 and now they’ll be looking to accomplish more in 2024 with an improved roster.
Bigger Expectations Than 8.5 Wins
With all of the team’s issues in 2023, the Steelers finishing over .500 again was a success.
In 2024, there will be much bigger expectations.
The Steelers won’t have nearly as much uncertainty surrounding them next season.
Pickett is no longer their quarterback. Instead, they have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on the roster to compete for the starting job.
They also landed All-Pro linebacker Patrick Queen to fix their issues at inside linebacker.
On top of those moves, they improved at safety by signing DeShon Elliott and added Donte Jackson at corner.
The team also had some strong points in 2023. They have one of football’s best pass rushes and their defense allowed one of the NFL’s lowest completion percentages last season.
There are still some issues that need to be addressed on the offensive line and the team has a major need at wide receiver. If they can fix those things between now and the start of the 2024 season, they’d have one of the league’s most well-rounded rosters.
However, the team still has plenty of time to address those needs, especially with the draft still ahead of them.
Meanwhile, they have plenty of winnable games on their schedule for 2024.
They get home games against the Giants and Chargers, who both finished in the bottom six in 2023.
The Steelers have also have matchups against the Broncos and Commanders, who both have unsettled quarterback situations.
Even their division doesn’t look as daunting as it did last year.
Deshaun Watson hasn’t looked great as the starting QB for the Browns and adding Jerry Jeudy might not be enough to fix that.
The Ravens have suffered some major losses this offseason and Derrick Henry is the only big addition they’ve made. They still have the chance to try and replace the starters they’ve lost, but right now their roster doesn’t look as strong as the 2023 team and the Steelers beat that team early in the 2023 season.
If the Steelers can pick up those winnable games outside of the division and just split their divisional games, they would only need two more wins to go over their total.
The Steelers haven’t finished below .500 since Mike Tomlin became their head coach and they’ve spent the offseason trying to position themselves as a contender.
It would be surprising to see Tomlin’s streak come to an end now that he has a quarterback again and the team has made improvements on defense.
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Steelers’ Win Total Up 1 Game A Day After Opening at Surprisingly Low Number