Did the Steelers underperform or overperform during the 2024 season?
The arc of a season can make it difficult to judge, but the Steelers didn’t wind up far from expectations. Virtually nobody predicted they would win the AFC North, for example. Many predicted an 8- to 11-win season, and they finished in that grouping. They did post a winning record and advanced to the postseason. Many did question whether they would do that.
But at the same time, the Steelers were 10-3 on Dec. 14. They never won again, losing their final four regular-season games and then in the Wild Card Round. If you set up a line for the Steelers going 10-7 and exiting in the first round of the playoffs before the season started, a lot of people would have been able to buy that.
In fact, I would imagine there would be more people taking the under on that rather than the over. Let’s not forget that there were people predicting the Steelers to finish last in the AFC North. And we can’t pretend that we didn’t know their schedule was likely to be very, very difficult in the end.
Even many people who predicted the Steelers to finish 10-7 or better also predicted that they would lose three of their last four games before the season started. The focus was always going to be building up wins in the early portion of the season to protect against that late slide likely to come due to the quality of competition.
But, again, it goes back to moments in time, and in mid-December, the Steelers were 10-3. Mike Tomlin was being discussed as a prime Coach of the Year candidate. We were even hearing chatter about the Steelers being Super Bowl contenders. They had a seemingly comfortable lead in the division, and all was right with the world.
Except, of course, it wasn’t, and now we’re in mid-January assessing what went wrong. Is it even fair to say that a 10-3 team that lost five in a row, including a first-round playoff exit, overperformed? Likewise, is it fair to say that a team many predicted to post a losing record before the season started underperformed? How much did the Steelers’ in-season performance shift expectations, particularly in the transition at quarterback?
The Steelers’ 2024 season has come to its predictably inauspicious end, with yet another one-and-done postseason for HC Mike Tomlin. The offense faltered, and the defensed matched it blow for blow, leading to a 21-0 first-half deficit.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. Do they still believe in Russell Wilson, and/or Justin Fields, or do they want another solution? There are other major decisions to make, as well, such as what to do with George Pickens. Do you sign him to an extension, try to trade him, or let him play out his rookie contract?
The Steelers started the 2024 season 10-3, with Mike Tomlin in the Coach of the Year conversation. Wash, rinse, and repeat, and we have another late-season collapse. This may be the worst yet, a four-game losing streak presaging a one-and-done playoff “run”. Welcome to Steelers football.
