With the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the playoffs under head coach Mike Tomlin, inevitably the lack of playoff success for the future Hall of Fame head coach comes up.
Since 2016, Tomlin and the Steelers have not won a playoff game, going one-and-done in the three appearances, losing in 2017 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home, in 2020 to the Cleveland Browns at home and 2021 to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
The lack of playoff success is rather frustrating considering the talent that the Steelers have had during that span, but this is a new version of the Steelers that Tomlin enters the playoffs with Monday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills on the road in the Wild Card Round.
In a sit-down interview with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola published Monday morning on the team site, Tomlin stated that his lack of recent playoff success is his burden to bear, not the current team’s featuring a number of key players that haven’t been around.
“Not necessarily for our guys. That’s my story,” Tomlin said to Labriola when asked if ending the playoff drought is a rallying cry for his team. “That’s not [Nick] Herbig’s story. In 2016 Herbig was probably in ninth grade. A guys like Elandon Roberts was playing for another team. It’s not their burden to bear. I don’t ask them to tote my luggage. I don’t project my luggage onto them.
“This is the 2023-24 Pittsburgh Steelers, and I’m concerned about this journey and rallying cries as it pertains to this group. And sometimes you’re kidding yourself if you think history like that is important to guys who weren’t a part of it. It’s not.”
Sure, some veteran players like star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, wide receiver Diontae Johnson and even kicker Chris Boswell want to end the playoff drought for Tomlin and the franchise, winning at least one playoff game and potentially going on a run. But for others in the building, what happened in 2016 when the Steelers won a pair of playoff games over the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs to reach the AFC Championship Game has no effect on them whatsoever.
Neither does the playoff losses to the Jaguars, Browns and Chiefs.
The Steelers’ roster — like many across the league — has undergone significant changes during that span. New faces are in place, young pieces have emerged and there’s some new leadership in place.
Of course, it all comes back to Tomlin though. Since that run to the AFC Championship Game in 2016, the Steelers have been rather embarrassing in the playoffs, allowing 40-plus points in the last three playoff appearances: a 45-42 loss to the Jaguars; a 48-37 loss to the Browns, and a 42-21 loss to the Chiefs.
The Steelers simply haven’t been good enough in the playoffs in recent years, especially the defense, which has been their calling card in recent years, particularly toward the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era.
Once again entering the playoffs this season, the defense is the calling card. Though the Steelers will be without Watt, there are plenty of pieces in place to help them compete and potentially upset the Bills on the road. The lack of playoff success undoubtedly eats at Tomlin, but he’s not projecting it onto this current team.
Nor should he. It’s a new season, a new team, new faces. The league has changed, too.
Credit to Tomlin for getting the Steelers into the playoffs with all that they’ve had to deal with this season. Now, hopefully that adversity helps them find a way to win in the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
