{"id":194455,"date":"2026-05-16T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T20:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194455\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T20:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T20:23:09","slug":"dan-orlovsky-predicts-double-digit-losses-for-steelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/194455\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Orlovsky predicts double-digit losses for Steelers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky<\/a> doesn\u2019t appear to be buying into any hype surrounding the revamped Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

During ESPN\u2019s NFL schedule release coverage, Orlovsky gave a brutally pessimistic outlook on Pittsburgh\u2019s chances this season, particularly once the schedule turns difficult after the bye week.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind a win after the bye week,\u201d Orlovsky said.<\/p>\n

He then doubled down with an even harsher assessment of the Steelers\u2019 late-season stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind a win after the bye week. If you\u2019re Pittsburgh, find the win. Cincy? You\u2019re not beating Cincy at Cincy. You\u2019re not beating Philly at Philly. You\u2019re not beating Denver. You\u2019re not beating Houston. You\u2019re not beating Jacksonville. You\u2019re not beating Baltimore. I understand seven of their first nine are non-playoff teams, but I sit here and look at this Steelers team, and we don\u2019t know who they\u2019re gonna be under Mike McCarthy and if Aaron\u2019s gonna be the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlovsky continued by predicting the Steelers could be headed toward one of their worst seasons in decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI continuously believe he will. Five, six wins\u2026 They\u2019ve had two top 10 picks since 1990. It\u2019s not normal. But if you go into that bye week and you don\u2019t have a banked set of wins, that\u2019s a brutal final nine\u2026 I don\u2019t see easy wins early on. I don\u2019t see any wins late.\u201d<\/p>\n

This also isn\u2019t the first time Orlovsky has gone out on a limb with a bleak prediction involving Pittsburgh. During last year\u2019s schedule release, he famously said, \u201cI think they\u2019re looking at 0-6 with Mason,\u201d referring to quarterback Mason Rudolph. That prediction obviously didn\u2019t come close to materializing – and was before Aaron Rodgers officially entered the fold.<\/p>\n

The Steelers enter 2026 with numerous changes and uncertainty, yet also havelegitimate reasons for optimism. New head coach Mike McCarthy takes over as the franchise looks to modernize its offense. Pittsburgh also added veteran playmakers Michael Pittman Jr. and Rico Dowdle this offseason, while most draft analysts viewed the team\u2019s rookie class favorably.<\/p>\n

Still, Orlovsky clearly believes the combination of a brutal second-half schedule, a new coaching staff, and questions surrounding Rodgers\u2019 level of play could make for a rough year in Pittsburgh. Whether that prediction proves accurate or becomes another cold take remains to be seen, but Orlovsky certainly isn\u2019t afraid to stake out an unpopular position when it comes to the Steelers.<\/p>\n

Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky doesn\u2019t appear to be buying into any hype surrounding the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74,4852,4853],"class_list":["post-194455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pittsburgh-steelers-commentary","tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}