Cowboys Once Again Kings Of One-And-Done Postseason Runs, But Steelers Not Far Behind

The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a franchise-worst four-game postseason losing streak, and if they lose today, they will own the second-worst active postseason losing streak behind the six-game streak now owned by the Miami Dolphins following their loss on Saturday.

Three of those losses necessarily involved their going one-and-done in the postseason; that is, losing their first game, whether following a bye week or otherwise. Their three consecutive ones-and-done give them 12 in the modern era of the playoffs, beginning with the advent of the Super Bowl. Very few teams have more.

The Dallas Cowboys reclaimed supremacy last night in their upset blowout loss to the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers, earning their 15th one-and-done postseason run of the Super Bowl era. It is tied for the most in NFL history with the Minnesota Vikings.

The only other teams with more one-and-done postseasons than the Steelers are the Indianapolis Colts at 14 (including some as the Baltimore Colts), the Kansas City Chiefs at 14, and the Dolphins, who earned their 13th by losing to the Chiefs this weekend.

If the Steelers want to avoid earning their 13th one-and-done postseason, they will need to pull off the biggest upset of this playoff slate as the seventh-seeded AFC team hosted by the second-seeded Buffalo Bills. The home team has been favored to win by as many as 10 points leading up to the game, Dallas favored by 7.5.

Current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin owns half of the team’s one-and-done runs, beginning in his first season as head coach in 2007 with a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He lost again in 2011 to the Denver Broncos and QB Tim Tebow, an overtime loss that continues to traumatize fans.

After missing the playoffs altogether the following two seasons, the Steelers returned in 2014 only to lose to the Baltimore Ravens, 30-17, in the Ravens’ only post-Super Bowl playoff win until the 2020 season. They also lost in their first postseason game in 2017 in the Divisional Round to the Jacksonville Jaguars, to the Cleveland Browns in 2020, and to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. All were blowout defeats even if the scoreboard occasionally looked more respectable than the game itself did.

Tomlin’s predecessor, Bill Cowher, went one-and-done in each of his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, getting blown out by the Buffalo Bills, 24-3, in 1992 and then losing in overtime, 27-24, to the Chiefs. He never lost in the opening round again in his eight subsequent postseason trips.

The legendary Chuck Noll, however, did lose in the opening round four times though twice in an era that preceded the creation of the wild card. The Steelers were blown out by the Oakland Raiders, 33-14, in 1973, the year after the Immaculate Reception, and then lost 34-21 to the Denver Broncos in 1977. Each of those one-and-done runs were followed up by a pair of Super Bowl runs.

Noll’s teams also met premature fates in 1982 and 1983, the former being a shortened season. They lost to the San Diego Chargers in the Wild Card Round that year, 31-28 before being blown out by the Raiders the following year in the Divisional Round.

And if they lose to the Bills today, it will give the Steelers their 13th all-time one-and-done postseason, tied for the fifth-most in the modern era of the playoff format beginning in 1966 with the first Super Bowl. Prior to that, only a single championship game was held between the winners of the East and West divisions beginning in 1933, unless a divisional tie was required to be settled with an additional game. In earlier seasons, the league champion was the team that finished with the highest winning percentage.