NFL Purgatory: The Pittsburgh Steelers Require Drastic Changes To Escape

A 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs has the Pittsburgh Steelers fanbase concerned about their ability to make a playoff run.

The Steelers will have to face teams in the same tier of the Chiefs if they want to make noise in the playoffs, but they seemed completely outmatched by Patrick Mahomes and company on Christmas day. Another early playoff exit for the Steelers would confirm what many already believe: they are in NFL purgatory.

NFL Purgatory and the Pittsburgh Steelers; the worst place for an organization to be

pittsburgh steelers mike tomlin — Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Fans watch the action between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

In what is one of the most impressive coaching streaks in the NFL, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has kept the Steelers away from a losing season for 18 straight years.

As a result of that streak, the Steelers have never had a pick higher than the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft during the Tomlin era. Only three times in the Tomlin era have the Steelers had a top-15 pick in the NFL draft.

Tomlin’s coaching prowess and the organization’s willingness to spend money to field a competitive team resulted in the Steelers being unable to get out of their own way. While franchise-altering picks are still out there, such as T.J. Watt being the No. 30 overall pick in the 2017 NFL DRaft, getting that franchise-altering player becomes much harder.

One team that exemplified NFL purgatory better than anyone was the Marvin Lewis-led Cincinnati Bengals. No playoff wins in two decades with seven playoff appearances. It wasn’t until Lewis was fired and the Bengals were able to draft Joe Burrow (after a 2-14 season) that they were able to win a playoff game.

The parallels between the two organizations are uncanny. The formula for NFL purgatory is as follows: one coach that can elevate a team beyond their talent, a middling quarterback that won’t win games but won’t lose them either, an elite star player that covers up deficiencies and a solid defense that keeps you in games.

The Marvin Lewis Bengals had: Marvin Lewis, Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and a solid defense led by a fierce pass rush (Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap). The current Mike Tomlin Steelers have: Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson, T.J. Watt and a solid defense led by a fierce pass rush (Watt, Cam Heyward, Nick Herbig).

A good coach, not-so-terrible QB and elite playmaker are enough to keep an NFL team in purgatory for years. It won’t be until the Steelers hit big on a late first-round pick or completely blow everything up that they will get out of NFL purgatory. The allure lies within the fact that you are always one pick away.

We’ll wait and see what happens in the playoffs but this 9-8 or 10-7 purgatory has been brutal.

Steelers either need to swing a massive trade for a legit quarterback or tear it down.

— Michael Beck (@MichaelBeck56) December 25, 2024

Not only is Tomlin’s clock ticking, but players grow weary of postseason failure. Watt commented on this after the playoff loss to the Bills in the 2023-2024 season in an article from the Associated Press.

“To be able to put in the work to get in those (playoff) positions and not capitalize makes it … frustrating,” said Watt, who led the NFL with 19 sacks but missed the Buffalo game with a left knee injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs got Patrick Mahomes with the No. 11 overall pick. The San Francisco 49ers made it to the Super Bowl with Mr. Irrelevant. Tomlin has shown he can win a Super Bowl with the right team, but will the Steelers hit on a draft pick before Tomlin’s clock runs out? Will they make a change before their star players grow too weary?

NFL Purgatory: The Pittsburgh Steelers Require Drastic Changes to Escape

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