The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t really made a mark in the history books over the past few seasons. They’ve won games, sometimes snuck into the playoffs, and when they have, they’ve bow out in the first round. For CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, anything but that would make 2024 a success for the Steelers, even a “bottoming out.” Benjamin wrote that Pittsburgh’s measure of success in 2024 is “something other than just another non-losing season.”
“That might mean an improbable deep playoff run. Or simply identifying an actual answer at the remade quarterback spot. Or, dare we say it, more of a bottoming out that prompts Mike Tomlin and Co. to do some deeper philosophical digging/adapting,” Benjamin writes.
The Steelers just haven’t been able to get over the hump of being good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to do anything once they get there. It’s been one of the biggest knocks against Tomlin over the last few seasons, with Pittsburgh’s last playoff win coming in 2016. For a franchise that has six Lombardi Trophies, going on eight years without a playoff win isn’t good enough.
I don’t think the Steelers will bottom out this season. Nor do I agree that doing so would make this a successful season. The Steelers made a calculated effort to bring in guys who can help them get over that hump with Patrick Queen, Russell Wilson and DeShon Elliott all upgrades at their respective positions. This team still has holes and isn’t really a major Super Bowl contender or threat yet, but it’s a group that should be good enough to win a playoff game. It will be disappointing if the Steelers go through the same song and dance of finishing 9-8 or 10-7 and getting blown out in the wild-card round.
Still, making the playoffs is preferable to a losing season, and I’d argue that last year caused Tomlin to do some adapting. The team fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada in-season and then hired Arthur Smith and moved on from Kenny Pickett at quarterback early in the offseason. With the amount of roster turnover this offseason, especially at key positions like quarterback, I think it’s fair to say that Tomlin did some digging and adapting already.
That’s what would make just another “non-losing season” feel like a disappointment this year, even in an extremely difficult AFC. It’s just been far too long since this team has had any real success, at least when it matters, and this season could be that turning point after an offseason of change.
