Are the Steelers primed for a second half run? Sounds like a crazy question after watching this teams for eight games right? Well, there are some really good reasons to believe this might actually happen. Let’s go over the reasons why we think the Pittsburgh Steelers are about to have a very successful second half of the 2022 season:
1. He’s back:
There may be no more important player to their franchise than TJ Watt is to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This team is a miserable 1-10 in games in which Watt has missed. The team has only managed eight sacks in the seven games since Watt’s injury, they had seven in the one game he played in 2022. The stark contrast on the way this team plays with their reigning defensive player of the year, and the way they play without him is undeniable.
As we have said many times, TJ Watt absolves all the Steelers sins. He makes Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward look better, his constant pressure covers for a weak secondary, and his ability to create turnovers improves this team’s horrendous offense. All that is about to return as Watt will reportedly be ready to go after the bye. There is simply no player acquired by any team at the trade deadline that will have more impact on the second half of the season as TJ Watt will in Pittsburgh.
Deadline moves:
The headlines coming out of the trade deadline for the Pittsburgh Steelers focused on the second round pick acquired in the Chase Claypool trade. This was undoubtedly a great haul for an underperforming wide receiver. The secondary benefit of this trade is it opens up a bigger role for rookie phenom George Pickens. More targets, and a bigger role for Pickens can only help this struggling offense. Also, this also gives more of an opportunity for Steven Sims to show off his impressive open field skills. He has been tabbed to replace Claypool as the team’s slot receiver. Think of this trade as addition by subtraction.
The other move made at the deadline was the acquisition of William Jackson III. While no one will mistake Jackson for a lock down corner, he is in fact now the best on the roster. He should be able to settle down what has become a train wreck of a secondary for the Steelers. These moves improve the Steelers on both sides of the ball, even if just marginally. We can expect improved play in the secondary, and a more explosive offense in theory. We go into more detail on the trade dealine here:Omar Khan’s first trade deadline: A-
An extremely easy schedule:
According to Tankathon, the Steelers have the the seventh easiest remaining schedule in the NFL. Their opponents have just a .444 winning percentage as of week 8. The only team left on the Steelers schedule with a winning record is the Baltimore Ravens. This is as important a factor of any when determining a team’s future success or failures. Having this easy a schedule, combined with the return of TJ Watt means this team is about to go on a second half run. We could easily see Pittsburgh winning 7 out of 9 games to end the season. Our prediction of a 9-8 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers is still in play believe or not. The second half of the 2022 campaign promises to be a whole lot more enjoyable than the first.
Please check out our new podcast called the Steelers Sanctuary Podcast. In our latest episode we go into great detail about the Steelers trade deadline moves. Here is a link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1981237/11617611-episode-43-emergency-post-trade-deadline-pod