For a large portion of the season, the Steelers had seemingly fooled most NFL analysts and fans into believing that they were actually a really good team, and one capable of contending in the AFC. The team appeared to hit their stride after benching Justin Fields for Russell Wilson prior to Week 7 when they were 4-2. Wilson quickly jumpstarted Pittsburgh’s offense, propelling them to four straight wins.
Since then, the Steelers’ season has taken a complete and total nosedive. Pittsburgh has lost 4 of their last 6 games since beating Baltimore in Week 11. Their most recent loss, a 29-10 embarrassment to the Chiefs on Christmas Day, has now caused them to surrender the AFC North lead to the Baltimore Ravens with just one game left to play. While their abrupt collapse might be surprising to some, it is certainly not the first time that a Mike Tomlin-coached team has fallen apart down the stretch.
Echoes Of Past Seasons
The Steelers’ late-season collapse is reminiscent of several past seasons. In 2018, Pittsburgh started the season off 7-2-1, only to drop 4 of their final 6 games, ultimately conceding the division title to the Ravens and missing out on the playoffs entirely.
In 2020, The Steelers stormed out of the gate to start 11-0, the best start to a season by any team in the last nine seasons. Pittsburgh proceeded to lose three games in a row and 4 of their last 5 to finish the season at 12-4, only good enough to be the 3-seed in the AFC playoffs. They would end up getting blown out by Cleveland in the Wild Card Round.
Even last year, The Steelers looked like a postseason lock after starting the season with a 7-4 record with their upcoming two games coming against the lowly Cardinals and Patriots, both of whom were 2-10 at that point. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh lost both of those games and one more after that to drop their record to 7-7. The Steelers finished the year with three straight victories and got the required help from other teams to make the playoffs as the final Wild Card, all of which should not have been necessary from the position they were in. In the end, they still got blown out in the playoffs so it likely would not have mattered.
What Went Wrong This Year?
For the fourth time in the last seven seasons, Pittsburgh has fallen victim to a post-Thanksgiving 3-game losing streak. Once again, it has severely impacted their playoff seeding and afforded them little to no momentum going into the postseason.
Some will be quick to point out the brutally tough schedule that Pittsburgh faced post-bye, including playing their last three games within a span of just 11 days. However, both the Chiefs and Ravens suffered the same scheduling disadvantage yet both went 3-0 during their stretch of games.
The Steelers’ three consecutive defeats have come against the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs—all of whom have at least 11 wins. With that being said, each of their losses have come by 14 points or more, and Pittsburgh is only averaging 13.3 points per game in those games. If anything, the losses prove how the Steelers are not equipped to compete against the league’s top teams and, therefore, likely destined for another early playoff exit.
When it comes to dissing out the blame, it’s hard to deny that a good percentage of it should fall on Mike Tomlin. Of course, Tomlin is a great coach and a future hall-of-famer, but his recent track record is a solid indicator that his teams have been prone to late-season collapses in recent years. Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, having coached the Steelers since 2007. Maybe it’s time for both sides to pursue new opportunities and look for a fresh start.
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