Despite the noise of Saturday night’s Wild Card game against the Steelers being a divisional battle, I can’t think of a time where the media consensus, and frankly fan consensus, has had such low hopes for the team. What used to be a fear when drawing the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers in the playoffs, now seems more like a turnstile, easy to pass through and a necessary block on a team’s route to the Super Bowl.
Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly and Craig Horlbeck of The Ringer share that similar thought on the Steelers, all picking against them in their AFC Wild Card matchup against the Ravens.
“To be honest I could see this game be 40-7,” Horlbeck said on the Ringer NFL podcast. “Russ [Wilson], the history of what the Steelers have done, I’m banking a lot on. ‘It’s the Steelers! It’s Tomlin!’ and that doesn’t really mean anything anymore.”
It’s hard to disagree. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, nearly 10 years ago. Tomlin’s overall playoff record is 8-10, and if you wipe away his Super Bowl runs, last happening in 2010, that plummets to 2-8.
The group also took some shots at Russell Wilson and his play over the last few games.
“What really sucks the most is that the Broncos are having a better Russell Wilson experience right now than the Steelers are,” Horlbeck said. “Paying him $40 million to not pay is actually better than the Steelers paying him $1 million to play.”
While I’m sure the Warner and Penny families who sign Wilson’s checks disagree, the point is noted. Wilson has been an addition by subtraction for the Broncos, who, after not making the playoffs in two seasons with Wilson as their quarterback, will also be playing on Wild Card Weekend. Still, I think it is a far cry to say the Steelers are worse for starting Wilson at that low salary. Let’s not forget last season the Steelers had Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, so everything this season is a step up, even if he’s not playing at an MVP level.
Overall, the group echoed what many analysts already believe, that this Steelers team does not have what it takes to win a Super Bowl, much less a playoff game. More concerning for the Steelers and Tomlin, however, seems to be the heightened awareness of the team’s playoff drought, putting into question the team’s leadership.
Hopefully, the doubt cast on the team and coach will act as the perfect rallying cry for a first-round upset.
