PITTSBURGH — Buyer beware: I had Kenny Pickett pegged as a "breakout player" last season.

He turned out to be a breakdown player.

That said, I'm mostly excellent at predicting Steeler seasons. So is everyone else, of course. It's not exactly nuclear physics. They'll win about nine games and either barely make or barely miss the playoffs — and if they barely make it, they'll get systematically destroyed in their first game and everyone will praise Mike Tomlin for another incredible coaching job.

It's one of the easiest annual predictions in all of sports, actually, right up there with the Dodgers making the playoffs, the Chiefs reaching the AFC championship game (and likely the Super Bowl), the Maple Leafs choking and the Pirates becoming a total circus by September. (Although even I didn't have Rowdy Tellez pitching three times in 10 days; congrats on that one, boys!)

But I'm struggling this year, and I'll tell you why: I think the wheels might finally fall off.

The Steelers have a historically brutal schedule, a questionable quarterback situation, a young and injured offensive line and a glaring lack of depth at cornerback, wide receiver and defensive line. Age and attrition are creeping in on defense. You can practically feel the T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick years slipping past with no playoff wins.

Honestly, 48% of me says 6-11, which might not be a bad thing. It might produce the next franchise quarterback. Always remember that every one of those Lombardi Trophies was born of bad years. A horrible season (decades of them, actually) produced Terry Bradshaw. A 6-10 season produced Ben Roethlisberger.

The great irony of this overrated "non-losing streak" is that the person most responsible for it — Roethlisberger — was available only because the Steelers had ... all together now ... A LOSING SEASON.

Having said all that, 52% of me believes big-time in Russell Wilson.

Horrifying thoughts flowed through me as I typed that sentence. I was picturing December emails, texts and tweets filled with ridicule on my freezing-cold Wilson take. Aren't you the same guy who had Pickett as a "breakout player" last season? Nice job. Now Wilson's carrying a clipboard while Justin Fields plays quarterback.

But I am resolute. Or at least resolved to go with the slim inner majority of 52%.

I think Wilson's a winner. He operated with an inordinate amount of class last season when his obnoxious coach, Sean Payton, tried to break him. Payton even lowered himself to screaming in Wilson's face on the sidelines. You don't do that to a player of Wilson's stature.

I also believe that Wilson played good football for most of the year, despite what people like former Broncos lineman Mark Schlereth might say.

I watched Wilson out-duel Josh Allen in Buffalo and beat the Bills, engineering two fourth-quarter drives built largely on ad-lib brilliance.

In fact, I watched Wilson beat Green Bay, Kansas City (which Denver never does), Buffalo, Minnesota and Cleveland in succession last season, throwing eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in those games. He finished the season with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions, highlighted by a 20-to-1 ratio in the red zone.

I don't think you do that by accident.

I saw a guy who could still play despite a coach and an organization seemingly working against him. It also seems to me that Wilson has belied his prima donna, corporate image his whole career. He really isn't that kind of quarterback. He's a courageous, blood-and-guts battler who overcame his smallish stature and draft status (third round) to forge a Hall of Fame career.

Maybe you didn't see that guy in Denver last season. I did.

And if you combine vastly improved quarterback play with healthy versions of Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick, a competent offensive coordinator, a bruising backfield tandem, plus budding stars in Joey Porter Jr. and George Pickens, plus an offensive line that should improve as the season progresses, plus a ball hawk in the middle of the defense in Patrick Queen, yes, I can see 10 wins — and maybe even a playoff win.

But I'm sure not betting anything of value on it.

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