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 an NFL MVP candidate

Why it will happen: The easiest way for this to come to fruition is because of how the AP now votes on the MVP award since 2022. While first place votes matter, they aren’t the only thing that are counted now as voters list five players with a point system based on where they have the players ranked. For example, 49 of the 50 first place votes went to Lamar Jackson last year so he won in the landslide. But the other first place vote went to Josh Allen who actually finished in fifth place  behind Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey, and Brock Purdy. This is based on where those players finished with the voting beyond first place.

While the new system of voting can be debated, what ultimately is asked here is will any members of the Steelers land in the top five of any voter’s list. Since the change in the voting system in 2022, there has been a defensive player who has received “vote points” each year. For this reason, if T.J. Watt has another strong season where his accolades can’t be ignored, such as breaking the NFL sack record, he could land as one of the finalists for MVP.

Other than Watt, the most common position that dominates the votes for MVP is quarterback. If Russell Wilson has a resurgent season in Pittsburgh after his two seasons in Denver, he very well could receive a vote to be in the top five for MVP in 2024.

Why it won’t happen: Even with the change in the voting format, can we really say that Myles Garrett getting one voter to list him as the fifth name really has him as an MVP candidate? It’s really getting watered down if that is now all it takes.

Now that I’ve addressed the formatting issue, we should stay focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even if T.J. Watt breaks the NFL sack record this year, there are those who vote for the Associated Press that simply aren’t going to consider him. He was the obvious choice for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, but it has become more about convincing voters than play on the field. For this reason, T.J. Watt has an uphill battle to win anything given by the AP. Although it was under the old system, T.J. Watt did not receive a vote for MVP in 2021 when he tied the NFL sack record, but wide receiver Cooper Kupp did as NFL Offensive Player of the Year. It’s simply the way it works for defensive players.

For the position the NFL seems to care about when it comes to MVP, Russell Wilson has never received a vote in his career. Even though Wilson has been in the running for NFL Offensive Player of the Year, he has not been considered for MVP or even made All-Pro, much like Ben Roethlisberger. Even though it’s not out of the question, the likelihood of Wilson having the best year of his career as he turns 36 years old is not something on which I would bet the farm.

Prediction: It’s not impossible for members of the Pittsburgh Steelers to be in the running for NFL MVP. It doesn’t happen very often, but the Steelers have had two players receive first place votes in the last 25 seasons. Kordell Stewart received four votes in 2001, and a Steelers defender got in on the action when James Harrison received three votes in 2008.

But to think someone from the Steelers is going to have this kind of season I believe is a bit much. Even with the new way the voting goes, there is a bias against the Pittsburgh Steelers as far as I’m concerned. So forget about NFL MVP or even Defensive Player of the Year. For me, bring on team accomplishments in 2024.

Miss a scenario? Check out yesterday’s scenario below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for training camp.

30 Scenarios In 30 Days: The Pittsburgh Steelers Will Win The AFC North