Sep 4, 2020 4 min read

The Steelers made it through training camp without a hint of controversy, major incident or injury. Considering it took place during a pandemic and a period of civil unrest, that’s noteworthy.

The biggest question surrounding the team heading into this camp was how Ben Roethlisberger would look. Would he be a shell of himself? Could he still play? Was the year away too much?

Those questions have all been answered.

“One thing we know now that we didn’t know in May, and really until we got into training camp, was what level of strength would Ben have in his arm? I think we’re now comfortable having watched him in training camp for a number of weeks. His arm strength may be better than it was last year,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said. “Certainly, it’s a Ben-level arm strength. We’re happy with that. It would have been nice to have a little more time for him to work with the receivers and offense.

“I think every team is going into this season in a different place than we’ve started at in previous seasons. What that’s going to mean on the field, I don’t think anyone knows, but certainly what we’ve seen from Ben so far is very encouraging.”

It has Rooney bullish on this team. The defense is very good. The quarterback is back. The team, which has missed the playoffs the past two seasons, is hungry.

Don’t believe that? Witness the Steelers’ response to the civil unrest that caused some teams to shut down their practices. The Steelers held their practices, kept working and then had a thoughtful response to everything the following day.

“I feel good about this team. I feel good about our roster,” Rooney said. “More than anything, I really feel good about the attitude this team came into training camp with. It’s such an unusual year and not having had the opportunity for guys to get together in the spring, particularly some of the younger guys, I just like the attitude of the team and the work ethic they’ve had, the business-like approach.

“It’s been a good camp from that standpoint. Hopefully, that carries into the regular season and serves as a good foundation for us as we travel through the ups and downs we will undoubtably have, as with any NFL season.”

n The Steelers should be a good team. Will it be enough to run down the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North?

The guess here is no. But no team has won the AFC North three years in a row since the Steelers won the division every season from 1994 through 1997. And that’s with the Cleveland Browns never winning the division during that period.

History tells us the Ravens will have a tough time winning the division again for a third consecutive year. But they have an easy schedule and a young quarterback who is going to continue to improve.

That doesn’t mean the Steelers can’t catch them. They look like a team capable of winning 12 games.

But will 12 be enough? It might not considering the Ravens won 14 last season. But winning 14 or more games in back-to-back seasons is difficult.

n Not having fans in the stadiums will be a serious blow to the bottom line of teams. According to Forbes, that accounts for 38 percent of team revenues.

And that was before the additional costs involved with dealing with COVID-19.

n The NFL will take seven teams to the playoffs from each conference. The Steelers will surely be one of those.

Even if they aren’t a division winner, they’ll still have as good a shot as anyone to advance through the AFC playoffs.

Remember, there won’t be fans in a lot of stadiums, maybe for the entire season. And even in stadiums where there will be fans, there might not be full stadiums. So, home-field advantage because of noise will be minimal.

The AFC playoff teams this season will be Kansas City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Denver.

In the NFC, it will be New Orleans, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Seattle, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Take the Steelers to surprise the Chiefs in the AFC Championship, while the Saints will knock off the Cowboys to win the NFC.

That will set up a Drew Brees vs. Ben Roethlisberger Super Bowl. Brees will win the Super Bowl and walk off into retirement.