Could Steelers playoff déjà vu force major changes?
Fundamentally, there are three ways you can lose an NFL Playoff game. First, you can be unlucky, losing despite being the better team. Or, you can fail to rise to the occasion, throwing the game through sloppy play and lack of cohesion. Finally, you can lose to a better team by just not being good enough to compete. When the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 season diagnostics report comes out, the debate over how the last two reasons fit the Steelers the most, and why they exited the playoffs early this year.
The Steelers were not a sharp, well-machinated operation in 2024, and coaching to play on the field was subject to criticism for inconsistency. They weren’t askew just during the Wild Card game loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but throughout the season, particularly during the run of defeats across a four-game span. It was apparent the Steelers were not good enough when it mattered.
Even in November and early December, when the team was sitting pretty at 8-2 and 10-3, respectively, a cursory glance at the Super Bowl odds at any point in the season would tell you that sportsbooks weren’t convinced. They were ranked as outsiders in the betting odds, and the sportsbooks seem to have been vindicated after the defeat to the Ravens. The 28-14 loss was semi-respectable on paper, but the truth is that the Steelers never looked truly competitive in a game that was more or less over by half-time.
A sense of déjà vu? The Steelers also went 21-0 down to the Bills in last season’s Wild Card round before mounting a bit of a comeback to make the final score respectable.
The similar results and recurring early exits from the playoffs is concerning for a franchise as storied as the Steelers – and it needs to end if Pittsburgh is to regain its prowess and pride within the National Football League.
In the near future, the question will be whether this team needs to be tweaked or undergo wholesale changes. Plenty of fans will argue for the latter. We know, of course, that some changes will have to be enforced more rapidly than others.
The Steelers have both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson headed into free agency. Does the organization bring one of them back, both, or neither? Wilson had a decent stretch in the regular season, finding his feet in the fall and early winter. But, he also led an offense that failed to reach 20 points in a game since December 8.
Fields was a mixed bag, barely better statistically than Mitchell Trubisky, and similar to Kenny Pickett; facts that were very unpopular when we shared the side-by-side stats across social media channels. Emotionally, fans felt Fields gave them a boost with his legs and may have fared better when Wilson struggled. They’ll never know because Fields wasn’t given the reins.
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Head coach Mike Tomlin has been enigmatic about the quarterback situation and what the team may be looking at moving forward. And some of that may be due to his own status.
While it’s difficult to speculate on Tomlin’s future with the team, despite the no-trade clause in his contract, there is discontent among the fanbase – with him and the team. The successes of the late 2000s and early to mid-2010s built up goodwill between the fans and Tomlin. That shine has faded with his team’s inability to make real headway into the postseason, though.
Although overall success as an NFL head coach could afford him the luxury of making his own decisions about his future, it is clear that something is not working when the Steelers are approaching almost a decade since they won a playoff game.
The Steelers have arguably been the most consistent team in the NFL over Tomlin’s tenure. Fans, and owners, of most franchises would gladly accept reaching the playoffs two out of every three seasons, on average.
As a team’s fortunes wax and wane, it’s normal to have down seasons. Yet, the Steelers, under Tomlin, have never experienced a losing season. It’s an incredible consistency, a feat matched by only two other coaches in NFL history. Be careful what you wish for, as they say.
That consistency isn’t measured quite the same by the fanbase when it comes to regular versus postseason win-loss records, however.
Ultimately, ownership and the hierarchy of the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to ask themselves what they want the future of their team to look like. It won’t be a knee-jerk reaction due to the latest playoff loss, as much of the fanbase feels it should be, but will require answering the difficult questions as to just how many changes need to occur.
The similarities between this season and last (2023), when the Steelers also went 10-7 and lost to a superior rival (the Buffalo Bills), and, indeed, the 2021 season (9-7-1 and a Wild Card loss to the Chiefs), have too much symmetry to do nothing.
Whether those needed alterations include Tomlin or not is unclear. Art Rooney II has continually expressed a unified understanding between Tomlin and himself in regards to how the team will operate. That could signal that Tomlin won’t be moved from his position. It doesn’t mean that some aspects of his position won’t be affected. Could Tomlin’s run with the Steelers end? It’s unlikely, but not impossible.
Regardless, the playoffs issue has to be addressed by creating a successful team and staff. The quarterbacks situation isn’t the only key area where change is almost a certainty. Repeating early exits from the postseason, over and over, is a good way to define insanity in an NFL that waits for no one. Adapt or fall into obscurity.
