The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the 2024 regular season, but before the real games begin, the team has to head to training camp back at Saint Vincent College in order to fine tune their skills. As we here at SCN prepare you for the start of camp, we give you a series called “30 Scenarios in 30 Days” which gives you a Steelers scenario every day leading up to the start of camp.

It is simple how it works. We provide you the scenario, reasons why it will or won’t happen, and then our prediction for what we think will take place.

Let’s get to the scenario…

Scenario: The Steelers will have a winning record in the AFC North, again

Why it will happen: The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in one of the toughest divisions in all of football, and most would say they are clearly the top division in both the AFC and NFC. So, with six games encompassed by those divisional foes, you would have to think it would be tough sledding for the Steelers.

Think again.

The Steelers have had a tremendous amount of success in recent years in the division, and to try and keep things as current as possible here are the last three seasons of the Steelers divisional record:

2021: 4-2

2022: 3-3

2023: 5-1

How have the Steelers done vs. division opponents all-time? Try a 91-40-1 record.

People can criticize the Steelers, and Mike Tomlin, all day and night if they so choose, but you can’t deny his ability to have his team ready for divisional opponents. When most people view the Ravens as the cream of the crop, considering they won the division last year and were in the AFC Championship game, you’d have to go back to 2019 since a Lamar Jackson led Ravens team beat the Steelers. He’s just one player, but it is indicative of the Steelers success over the division.

Why it won’t happen: Last season’s 5-1 record was sweet, but was it also smoke-and-mirrors? Of the five wins in the division last year, only two of them came against the opponent’s starting quarterback, and the loss came against the Browns’ third string signal caller in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Steelers beat the Ravens’ back-ups in horrible conditions to finish out the regular season, and didn’t have to face Joe Burrow once after he was lost for the season with a wrist injury.

Nothing comes easy in the NFL, but when you only have to play against back-up quarterbacks it certainly helps. If the starting quarterbacks around the division stay healthy this year, it will be a much tougher task in 2024 compared to previous seasons.

Prediction: While I think the Steelers will have a winning record, I don’t think they’ll match the 5-1 of last season. I see the Steelers finishing 4-2 in the division. This means they’ll have to sweep a team, and I’ll go with the Week 18 theory. The Steelers play the Bengals in Week 18, and if that game is deemed meaningless, it could make that game a lot easier, see 2023 vs. the Ravens in Week 18 as the prime example.

Miss a scenario? You can see the full list of scenarios below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for training camp.

Day 10: Patrick Queen Will Make The Pro Bowl Again In 2024

Day 9: The Steelers Will Have A Top 10 Rush Defense

Day 8: The Steelers Will Rush For More Than 2500 Yards In 2024

Day 7: T.J. Watt Will Break The Single-Season Sack Record

Day 6: George Pickens Will Have Double-Digit Receiving TDs

Day 5: Russell Wilson Will Start All 17 Steelers Games In 2024

Day 4: The Steelers Defense Will Have More Takeaways This Season

Day 3: The Steelers Will Top Their 2023 Sack Total

Day 2: The Steelers Offense Will Have More Turnovers This Season

Day 1: The Steelers Will Go Above And Beyond Their Win-Loss Prediction In 2024