AFC North projections: Where the Pittsburgh Steelers finish

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the most stable organization in the NFL. Since a guy by the name of Chuck Noll took over as coach in 1969, the team has had just two more: Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. Because of the history of the organization, it might not be fair to say Tomlin is on the hot seat entering 2020 but perhaps a warm one. It should be noted he still has yet to have a losing season.

The Steelers haven't missed the playoffs three years in a row since 1998-200 under Cowher, but the team has not played extra football the past two years under Tomlin. The only other time that happened under Tomlin was in 2012-13, and the Steelers responded by reaching double-digit wins and the playoffs each of the next four years. With the postseason field expanded by one in each conference for 2020 and beyond, nothing short of a playoff trip may save Tomlin.

Steelers SportsLine Projection Model Forecast/William Hill Odds

• Model wins: 9.0
• Model AFC North title: 13.9 percent
• Model make playoffs: 61.2 percent
• WH win total: 9.0 (Over -120 favorite)
• WH AFC North title: +380
• WH make playoffs: Yes -125, No +105

Tomlin might have done his best coaching job in 2019 after losing future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending thumb injury in Week 2 vs. Seattle. Pittsburgh was crushed Week 1 in Pittsburgh, lost that Seattle game and then the next week in San Francisco yet still finished 8-8 with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges under center.

All reports from training camp are the Big Ben is 100 percent and has regained all velocity. He led the league in passing yards as recently as 2018 with a career-high 5,129. The return of Roethlisberger, who is +400 to win Comeback Player of the Year at William Hill, should help open up the running game, which averaged just 90.4 yards per game a season ago. Pittsburgh averaged around of 114 rushing yards per game from 2004 to 2018.

James Conner was a breakout star in 2018 in place of Le'Veon Bell but was limited to 10 games in 2019 due to injury and averaged a career-low 4.0 yards per carry. JuJu Smith-Schuster looked like the next Antonio Brown in 2018 but slipped to only 552 yards and three scores in 12 games last season.

Pittsburgh's top pick in the 2020 draft – it didn't have a first-rounder due to the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade -- was 6-foot-4, 238-pound Notre Dame wideout Chase Claypool, and he's drawing raves in camp. Talk about a red-zone threat. Claypool better be good because the Steelers took him with Ohio State tailback JK Dobbins still on the board. Claypool is +5000 to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. The last Steeler to win that award was Big Ben.

Defensively, the Steelers have one of the league's best regardless of position in linebacker TJ Watt, who may soon become the highest-paid defender in league history and is +1600 to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year – brother JJ of the Texans won it three times. The Steelers return 10 starters from last year's defense, including end Stephon Tuitt, who missed half of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Currently, the Steelers project to be underdogs in five games: Week 4 at Tennessee, Week 7 at Baltimore, Week 9 at Dallas, Week 12 vs. Baltimore and Week 14 at Buffalo.

NFL Pick: Pittsburgh finishes 9-7, second in the North, and earns a Wild-Card spot. 

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