Continuity is practically the Pittsburgh Steelers’ middle name, at least historically. The organization has been known for continuity in all aspects for a long time, evidenced by having only three head coaches since 1969. But the roster experienced a lot of turnover this year.
CBS Sports released a continuity ranking with a weighted point system, and the Steelers are tied for 19th with the Denver Broncos. This landed them in the tier of teams with “average” continuity, per CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards.
Out of a maximum possible score of 100 points, the Steelers have just 56. That has them at the bottom of the AFC North in this metric, too. The Ravens and Browns are in the “elite” continuity tier with 73 and 70 points respectively. The Bengals are in the above-average tier with 68 points.
A lot of that has to do with the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh because this is a weighted list. And that goes beyond the starting quarterback. The Steelers replaced all three of their rostered quarterbacks from 2023 with three new ones for this season. There isn’t a clear path to that improving either with none of their quarterbacks under contract for 2025.
The idea behind the continuity rankings is that better teams have more continuity because they had less pieces to replace. Head coach accounts for 15 points, the offense has a possible 45, the defense 35, and special teams just five points. Given that a lot of the Steelers’ turnover was on offense, it makes sense that they would suffer in the weighted-continuity rankings.
Beyond the quarterback, the Steelers figure to have at least two and maybe three different Week 1 starters on the offensive line from last season. They also have a nearly completely transformed wide receiver room with George Pickens and Calvin Austin III the only holdovers from last season. Not to mention a new offensive coordinator with Arthur Smith replacing Matt Canada.
During the Ben Roethlisberger era, the Steelers were likely at or near the top of these rankings for quite a while, but times are changing. The hunt for a franchise quarterback continues, and the coaching staff on offense rightfully needed some change after an abysmal three-year stretch.
The Steelers will still be talked about as an organization of continuity simply because it has been that way for a long time, but that isn’t necessarily the case anymore as they transition into the next era. They will still maintain a healthy baseline, however, as Mike Tomlin’s contract was extended three years in June to be with the team through the 2027 season.
