The Pittsburgh Steelers’ grip on postseason supremacy continues to slip, category by category. They do not outright have the most Super Bowl trophies. They are second in appearances. They do not have the most postseason wins or appearances.
On top of that, the San Francisco 49ers are beginning to now lap them in conference finals appearances. They first passed the Steelers most wins this week. They passed Pittsburgh for the most appearances in a conference finals in 2019, reaching 17. Now they’ve made it in back-to-back years, raising their total to 19, three more than the second-place Steelers.
Now, they have also tied the Steelers for the most games hosting a conference finals with 11. The Steelers are 6-5 when they are the home team in the conference finals, losing their last trip there in 2016. The 49ers are 5-5 in their first 10.
Pittsburgh is 2-3 when playing the role of visitor in conference finals, while San Francisco is 2-6, so homefield advantage on that stage has been particularly important for the 49ers. Only the Minnesota Vikings have a worse road winning percentage in conference finals in the NFC among teams with more than two games.
Only the New England Patriots are anywhere close to the Steelers and 49ers in home conference finals, and they are three behind at eight. The Denver Broncos are next with seven while the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins are tied with six. The Dolphins have not been to a conference final in decades, since 1992.
Also of note, the 49ers can join the Steelers, Cowboys, and Broncos for the second-most Super Bowl appearances of all time if they beat the Detroit Lions Sunday. They have all won eight conference finals, meaning eight trips to the Super Bowl, trailing only the Patriots, who have 11.
Of course, these landmarks are falling further and further into time for the Steelers. Their last postseason win was 2016, losing five straight, as was their last conference final appearance. Their last home conference final was in 2010, which is also the last time they reached the Super Bowl. Their last Super Bowl win was in 2008.
It won’t be too long now before we start to see players going into college who were born since the Steelers’ last Super Bowl title. Then again, the 49ers have been waiting even longer. They haven’t won it all since 1994, though they made it back twice in the past decade.
It might also be worth mentioning that if the 49ers do reach the Super Bowl, they will have done so with their fifth different quarterback. Joe Montana did it four times, Steve Young once, both Hall of Famers. Since then, they have gone to the championship round with Colin Kaepernick and Jimmy Garoppolo. Now they can do it with Brock Purdy. Most teams would be lucky to even make it twice.
