Stay in the playoff hunt? The Pittsburgh Steelers can do that. Make the postseason? Oh yeah, they usually have that covered. Win a playoff game? You might as well ask the franchise to split an atom. It’s not something they’ve been able to do for years. After losing to the Cleveland Browns, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith thinks Pittsburgh is heading down the same path.
“Get to the postseason. Yes, I have faith,” Smith said on Friday morning’s First Take. “They’re gonna get to the postseason. Okay. But what they’re going to do in the postseason, in my opinion, based on what we’re seeing is go home.”
I dislike repeating the history as much as you loathe reading it. No playoff victories since 2016. An upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017. The same story playing out in 2020 to the Browns, their biggest win since re-joining the NFL in 1999. Blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 and rolled early by the Buffalo Bills in 2023, a late comeback attempt not enough to advance.
It’s the Steelers’ longest drought since the 1970 merger when Chuck Noll turned Pittsburgh into a dynasty. Even during the rough portions of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the entire lost decade that was the 1980s, the Steelers found ways to win at least one playoff game. Heck, in 1984, Mark Malone outdueled the Denver Broncos’ John Elway to take Pittsburgh to the AFC Championship Game.
Across the league, the Steelers’ current postseason losing streak is tied for the second-longest in the NFL. Only the Miami Dolphins have a longer active drought, losers of their last six, while the Washington Commanders have also dropped their past five. Based on current standings, the Steelers and Commanders will have chances to break their streaks this season.
For Pittsburgh, it won’t be easy. Whoever they face in the Wild Card round will be a challenge. It could wind up being the Baltimore Ravens for a third meeting. Perhaps it’ll be the Los Angeles Chargers, doubtful to win the division but likely to capture a Wild Card spot. Pittsburgh beat them 20-10 in Week 3 but faced an injured Justin Herbert, hampered by an ankle sprain and leaving the game halfway through. A rematch would be far tougher. Even the Denver Broncos look like a tougher team than when the Steelers saw them in Week 2, QB Bo Nix more comfortable and successful.
“Do I think they’re gonna beat Buffalo in the playoff game? No,” Smith said. “Do I think they’re gonna beat Kansas City in the playoff game? No. So when I look at it from that standpoint and the likelihood that that’s one of the teams they gonna run into first.”
It’s less likely Pittsburgh would face one of those top teams first. One of them is likely to have the No. 1 seed and only playoff bye. The other figures to play a No. 6 or No. 7 seed. Pittsburgh’s more probable to be the No. 5 seed if they can’t win the North, though the rest of the season will write that story.
For Pittsburgh, their measure of progress is defined by getting over the hump of winning a playoff game. Owner Art Rooney II himself showed rare frustration after the 2023 season and led to an aggressive and re-shaped offseason. If they can’t do that, this season will feel hollow like all the rest.
