Good but not good enough. That sums up the Pittsburgh Steelers last seven seasons. Lots of regular season success. Plenty of impressive numbers. Tons of grit and resiliency in those especially-difficult years, finding ways to win in November and December.
But January? That’s when the Steelers say goodbye. For seven straight seasons, Pittsburgh has failed to win a postseason game, let alone make a serious Super Bowl run. Their drought continues after Monday’s 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. For Ryan Clark, their streak won’t end until they make a serious upgrade at quarterback. Appearing on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, Clark said the Steelers “good” isn’t good enough.
“This team needs to figure out who their quarterback’s gonna be, Scott,” Clark told Van Pelt. “You heard [Mike Tomlin] answer questions about Mason Rudolph and it’s good to have a guy that’s competitive. It’s good to have a guy that you can believe in. But when you’re looking at the other sideline and their quarterback is Josh Allen, it kind of shows you that you don’t have what it takes at the position. And so if you look at this team, I believe a quarterback is next. And then filling out this roster around him.”
Mason Rudolph contributed to the Steelers’ sluggish start, throwing a costly end zone interception as Pittsburgh trailed 14-0. After the pick, Buffalo marched downfield to extend their lead by another touchdown, 21-0. Rudolph’s play improved throughout and he played a solid second half, throwing a pair of touchdowns to get back into the game, but he was no Josh Allen. For Buffalo, Allen tossed three touchdowns and rushed for another, a 52-yard touchdown trucking through the Steelers’ secondary before running away from it.
Of course, finding a quarterback capable of going toe-to-toe with a player like Allen is far easier said than down. Though Clark obviously isn’t ignorant to that fact, his comments come off with a, “If I was an NFL GM, I would simply draft the next Patrick Mahomes” vibe. There’s only a handful of consistently good NFL quarterbacks with the playoffs even showing fractures in Dallas’ Dak Prescott and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
But football is driven by its most important position. Quarterback. And the Steelers don’t seem to have anyone who, even on their best day, can play an elite game start to finish.
“Without the guy pulling the trigger that has the talent to go up against the Mahomes’ and the Joe Burrow’s and, hell, now even the C.J. Stroud’s and Lamar Jackson’s, you can’t win in the AFC.”
None of the names Clark mentions are going anywhere. Mahomes is locked up long-term. Ditto with Burrow and Jackson, signing extensions this offseason while Stroud looks like the conference’s next great quarterback.
What seems clear is the Steelers don’t have a long-term option internally. Not with the upside Clark talks about. Throughout the regular season, Mason Rudolph won Pittsburgh games, Kenny Pickett didn’t lose any, and Mitch Trubisky lost you them. But Rudolph will never be a top ten quarterback, Pickett sure doesn’t look like that guy either, and Trubisky obviously isn’t.
If the team comes to that realization, this offseason will be one of serious change. Pittsburgh could push for a quarterback in the draft, though a blue-chip player seems almost unattainable. There will be rumors and rumblings around veterans and almost-vets, everyone from Russell Wilson to Kirk Cousins to Justin Fields. Right now, the most likely outcome is Pittsburgh will give Pickett another year in 2024 to prove he can be “the guy.” It’s unlikely to happen. And the Steelers, at some point, will try to find their franchise quarterback for a second time since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. Until then, Pittsburgh’s playoff success will continue to prove fleeting.
