Charles Davis Has ‘Not Been Able To Find A Reason’ To Predict Steelers To Miss Playoffs

Making the playoffs hasn’t been an issue for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the last 10 seasons, they’ve only missed the postseason three times. Even then, they almost snuck in. The real problem plaguing the Steelers is winning a playoff game. They haven’t managed to do that since the 2016 season. This year, it looks like they have a good chance to change that, but they still have plenty of doubters. Recently giving his playoff predictions, analyst Charles Davis picked the Steelers to be the seven-seed this year.

“I’ve just not been able to find a reason to not pick Pittsburgh,” Davis said Wednesday on CBS Sports HQ. “Every time it happens, they find their way into the playoffs. At times, they will have those runs during the season where they look like a true contender. But unfortunately, by the time they get to the playoffs, that’s not really the case. Thus, they haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.

“But I’m a big believer in Mike Tomlin and what he does there, how that team comes ready to play. I do think Aaron Rodgers playing 17 for them, which I’m counting on, which you shouldn’t with any quarterback, but if he plays the bulk of those 17, to me, this is a playoff team again.”

Davis is confident that the Steelers will make the playoffs, but unfortunately, his prediction has them suffering some deja vu. They face the Baltimore Ravens in the first round, and while Davis doesn’t expand on that matchup, he has the Ravens facing the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game. That means they’d have to knock the Steelers out in round one.

That would be a repeat of 2024 for the Steelers. In fact, Davis has them being a little worse because the Steelers were the six-seed last year. Here, they’d finish third in the division because the Cincinnati Bengals are the sixth seed.

After all of the changes they made this offseason, finishing this season in a similar fashion would be disappointing. The Steelers seemingly went all-in, making several splash moves such as trading for DK Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey, and Jonnu Smith, as well as signing Aaron Rodgers. They’re sick of falling short in the playoffs.

It doesn’t sound like Davis is down on the Steelers, and considering how they last looked against the Ravens, it’s fair to wonder if they could beat their bitter rival in a postseason game, especially one at Baltimore. However, the regular season hasn’t even started yet. The Steelers have a lot of time to prove that they can put up a fight against some of the better AFC teams.

Davis’ prediction would be more of the same for the Steelers, so hopefully, they outperform his expectations. The Steelers have been a consistent playoff team. Maybe this is the year they finally become more than that and evolve into postseason contenders.