NFL analyst has a worst-case scenario that seems all too likely for the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to look entirely different in 2024, or at least on the offensive side of the ball.

The QBs, the OC, the WRs, and the OL, you name it, it's changed.

And while the NFL may have set up the back half of the Steelers' schedule to create peak content for Hard Knocks AFC North , Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated thinks it might be a worst-case scenario for Pittsburgh.

Steeler's Brutal schedule to get the best of their QBs?

This category should be called toughest half of the season because no other team might have a more difficult final eight weeks. That’s the downside of playing in the AFC North, with the league preferring to have divisional opponents face each other down the stretch. But the NFL did them no favors by having all of their AFC North games condensed into the final eight weeks, playing the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals twice each in that span. They also have to play the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 15 and host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17—the latter of which will be Pittsburgh’s third game in 11 days. These eight games might determine whether coach Mike Tomlin will extend his 17-year streak of not having a losing season...

Perhaps Payton and the Broncos were right to release Wilson and eat the dead money from his hefty contract extension because his best days are behind him. If that’s the case, the Steelers do have Fields to replace Wilson, but he also arrives in Pittsburgh with uncertainties. Fields’s accuracy issues and lack of consistency as a passer led the Bears to trade him to make room for Caleb Williams. It could be a long season for the Steelers if both quarterbacks struggle and fail to improve on their weaknesses. Gilberto Manzano, Sports Illustrated

While optimism is high in Pittsburgh, and it should be, there is a world where things go off the rails and this worst-case scenario becomes all too real. If Wison struggles out of the gate, his pole position will no longer matter as Pittsburgh turns to Justin Fields.

But should that happen later than sooner, say around the time of the Week 9 bye, now you're asking a QB to come in cold and lead your team down the stretch of what might be the hardest schedule in NFL history .

So a hot start is a must for the Steelers, with the first 8 weeks ultimately determining how well the team does.