The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs last year in spite of their offense looking terrible for almost the entire season. With Russell Wilson at the helm now, there is hope that the Steelers will be competitive in the playoffs — assuming they make the postseason — rather than being one and done. The Steelers are one of the NFL’s most accomplished franchises, but they haven’t looked it over the past few years. Talking head Stephen A. Smith seems to be fed up with the Steelers’ lack of success.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers once had a standard,” Smith said Thursday on ESPN’s First Take,. “That standard has dissipated. The reality is that, collectively, they haven’t lived up to the standard that Mike Tomlin inherited. Mike Tomlin is a Super Bowl champion. He went to two Super Bowls in his first four seasons. Since that time, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-8 in playoff games with six one-and-done postseasons.”
Tomlin is famous for saying that the standard is the standard, and for the Steelers, that means winning championships. Tied for the most Super Bowl championships, the Steelers are used to competing for rings. However, they haven’t come close to a Super Bowl since 2016.
Some of that blame for the Steelers’ poor record in the playoffs can be put on Tomlin, but it isn’t all his fault. It’s true that the last few years of Ben Roethlisberger’s career were a disaster with the Steelers posing as contenders, only to be revealed as pretenders. However, the fact that the Steelers are still even making the playoffs should be seen as a win.
Just making the playoffs isn’t good enough, and Tomlin has even said so, but since 2021, the Steelers have not had championship-caliber teams. On paper, they didn’t even look good enough to make the playoffs. Despite that, they’ve still remained competitive.
Take one look at other teams that lost their franchise quarterback recently. The New York Giants and New England Patriots lost Eli Manning and Tom Brady, respectively. Now, they’re two of the worst teams in the NFL. Even the Los Angeles Chargers, who have found their next franchise quarterback after losing Phillip Rivers, have had the same amount of postseason success as the Steelers.
It’s fair to be frustrated with the Steelers for not being a serious threat in the playoffs. The standard is still winning championships, but you have to walk before you can run. It isn’t often that a team loses its franchise quarterback and continues to make the playoffs. Some would argue that it’s better to bottom out and lose enough games to get a high draft pick, but that doesn’t always guarantee success.
The bottom line is that the Steelers are still upholding the standard. They’re still proving that they can be a successful team in this league even without a franchise quarterback. With Russell Wilson, and potentially Justin Fields, in the driver’s seat now, this year should be another step in the right direction. Tomlin has flaws, but with him in command, the Steelers always have a chance.
