Throughout Hines Ward’s career, the Pittsburgh Steelers were almost always close to a Super Bowl or coming off a Super Bowl win. It was a level of sustained success rarely seen in the NFL and something even harder to replicate today. But there’s no question the Steelers have fallen short of those goals for more than a decade, leaving Ward to wonder about the state of the franchise.
In a recent interview with Forbes’ DJ Siddiqi, Ward said Pittsburgh’s lack of postseason success is a worry.
““It is (concerning) considering all the talent (they’ve had) since I retired,” Ward told Siddiqi. “All the talent that’s gone through there. You’re kind of like, ‘What’s going on?'”
Since their 2010 Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers have won just three playoff games. None have come since 2017, the team’s longest drought since the early days of Chuck Noll when he inherited a Pittsburgh franchise that had literally never won in the postseason until 1972. In the years since Ward hung up his cleats, the Steelers have gotten back to the AFC Championship Game just once, a 2016 loss to the New England Patriots, and have played in just three Divisional Round games. That’s despite having A-plus talent like QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Antonio Brown, RB Le’Veon Bell, DL Cam Heyward, and OLB T.J. Watt. Health tripped the team up a few times — the “Killer B’s” were rarely healthy come the playoffs — but still there are cornerstone players with light playoff resumes.
As the Steelers currently stand, they’re a middle-tier AFC team. Far below contenders like the Kanas City Chiefs and in-division foes like the Cincinnati Bengals while the Baltimore Ravens currently lead the AFC North. Heck, Pittsburgh hasn’t even won the division since 2020 and if it doesn’t do so in 2023, it’ll be the franchise’s longest such streak since the Steelers went seven seasons without from 1985-1991.
Ward said the six Lombardis the Steelers walk by on a daily basis serve as a reminder of what their ultimate goal is. Or perhaps was. Still, Ward wasn’t completely pessimistic and believes Mike Tomlin will right the ship.
“They have a young team,” he said. “Mike Tomlin will find a way to get it done.”
Pittsburgh’s offense is still young but 2022 was supposed to be the year the Steelers worked through their growing pains. Overall, the unit has not made a jump in 2023 and in many ways, has regressed. The defense is a veteran-laden group and undoubtedly the strong side of the ball, though there are questions in the secondary and for the number of splash plays the Steelers allow, even if they create many in their favor as well.
Sitting at 5-3, the Steelers are in the thick of the playoff race. Whether they advance to the postseason will likely come down to divisional play. They have an advantage of being 2-0 in the AFC North to begin the year but have four more matchups the rest of the season, including two with the Cincinnati Bengals, winners of four straight as QB Joe Burrow has gotten healthy. Pittsburgh’s goal can’t just be to show up in the playoffs. They need to at least win a game and show the franchise is making tangible strides in the right direction. Or Ward’s question – what’s going on? – will only get louder.
