The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy this offseason in their quest to reemerge as a Super Bowl contender in 2025. If you ask former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, though, he believes a fellow 2024 wild card team is set to surpass the Steelers this upcoming season.
Pittsburgh snuck into the playoffs last year as the No. 6 seed in the AFC, where they quickly were eliminated by their AFC North rival, the Baltimore Ravens. This offseason, the front office has revamped their offense, as they have brought in guys like Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf, while saying goodbye to Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, George Pickens, and Najee Harris.
The hope is that with Rodgers under center, the Steelers will be able to take a serious leap forward in 2025. However, there are some folks who are skeptical they can do that, as Rodgers is admittedly a very big question mark at the quarterback position. One guy who is skeptical is Orlovsky.
While Pittsburgh has tuned up their offense, he sees a very one-dimensional unit that will be relying heavily on the Rodgers-Metcalf connection. When looking around the AFC at other more diverse offenses, Orlovsky thinks the Steelers could struggle, even going as far to say the Broncos will be better than them in 2025.
“The Denver Broncos have added offensive talent,” Orlovsky said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “As far as Pittsburgh goes, you got two guys in the passing game that you really have to focus on, and then everyone else is like, ‘OK, we’re gonna make you beat us’ … The Broncos are going to be better than the Steelers.”
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Orlovsky would double down on this take shortly after in a post on X, saying, “Steelers will be good. Denver will be very very good.”
Losing Pickens and Harris does hurt the Steelers in a way, but they still have several playmakers at their disposal behind Metcalf. Robert Woods and Calvin Austin III are solid complementary wide receivers, Jaylen Warren has proven who can be a strong dual threat running back, and Pat Freiermuth is a consistent option at tight end.
It may take a while for the offense to mesh, but there’s reason to believe this unit will be much improved from the unit we saw in 2024. Whether or not they can beat teams like the Broncos, though, could determine whether or not Pittsburgh is able to go on a deep playoff run this year.
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