The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers finally win a playoff game this season?
We are nearing the start of the regular season, just days away, so now it’s time to pose the question: just before things kick off, are you confident that this Steelers team will finally win a playoff game again, given what we know or think we know?
It’s been some time since they have won a playoff game, unfortunately. We would have to go back to 2016 to find the last one, and things actually seemed to be on an upswing at the time. after four straight seasons without a playoff win between 2011-2014, missing the playoffs entirely in the middle years, they finally got back over the hump in 2015 with one win. Then they won two in 2016. And then…nothing.
So is this finally the year they make even a squeak in the postseason? Is three consecutive one-and-dones a sufficient run of ineptitude? Head coach Mike Tomlin is 0-4 in his last four playoff games, and that obviously needs to change in a hurry…just because it does, mind you, not because he’ll be fired if it doesn’t.
The Steelers didn’t even make the playoffs last year, though they came very close and finished the season on a 7-2 run. They have a lot of buzz entering the 2023 season following a very promising free agency, draft, training camp, and preseason cycle.
But will it translate when it matters most: when the games actually count? They have to start by winning enough games in the regular season, of course, ideally enough to win the division, or if not, at least enough to secure the top wildcard spot and thus play the weakest division winner. Yet they’ve managed to lose during this span when they had a bye week through the Wildcard Round as well, so….you never know.
