Even with Russell Wilson unlikely to start out towards his former staff, Mark Schlereth continues to be needling the Pittsburgh Steelers each likelihood he will get. Overtly criticizing Wilson all through the offseason, Schlereth believes the Denver Broncos will win in a giant approach this Sunday, proving they have been proper to maneuver on from Wilson.
Making their picks for FOX Sports activities’ new present Breakfast Ball, greatest referred to as background noise at your native airport, Schlereth mentioned this recreation received’t be shut.
“Broncos by two touchdowns,” he advised co-host Danny Parkins.
Denver is in search of its first win of the yr and to bounce again after a troublesome offensive displaying final Sunday towards the Seattle Seahawks. QB Bo Nix was overwhelmed in his first NFL begin, beneath fixed strain and with no operating recreation to present him assist. Denver completed the sport with simply 231 complete yards of offense in a 26-20 defeat through which 4 of the Broncos’ factors got here by the use of safeties, the primary protection since 2017 to document two of them in a recreation. Denver didn’t discover the top zone till the ultimate two minutes, Nix doing it himself on a brief speeding rating.
Contemplating the energy of the Broncos and Steelers are their defenses, it’s exhausting to see this recreation being so lopsided. That may require Pittsburgh to play a sloppy recreation and lose the turnover battle. Persistently taking part in tight video games, the Steelers haven’t misplaced a recreation by a number of touchdowns since Week 13 of final yr.
Although Pittsburgh has traditionally struggled taking part in in Denver, Parkins made a powerful case for the Steelers.
“I’ve watched Mike Tomlin overachieve and his protection be unimaginable,” he mentioned. “And when he will get a rookie quarterback, rookie quarterbacks don’t nicely towards that protection: 6-25. They get sacked, they don’t seem to be environment friendly. They barely full 50 p.c of their passes…I like the Steelers.”
A pair of rookie quarterbacks bested Pittsburgh final yr, Houston’s C.J. Stroud dominating whereas Cleveland’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson did simply sufficient, however the Steelers’ total observe document is powerful towards newcomers. With a wholesome protection that swarmed the Atlanta Falcons final week, it’s exhausting to see this recreation getting lopsided. Introduced with that data, Mark Schlereth admitted it was a rational thought.
“I hate the very fact you deliver every kind of info and statistics and information to this system,” he mentioned. “You should cease that proper now.”
Stated in jest, to be clear, however an embodiment of morning sports activities speak reveals and the axe Schlereth has grinded towards Wilson and, by extension, the Steelers, all offseason.
