There are 31 teams that end each year in the NFL with disappointment, but like everything, there are levels to it. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ level of disappointment is very high for a number of reasons after another one-and-done postseason.
Art Rooney II’s frustration at this point last year set the stage for major changes: a new offensive coordinator, quarterback, and revamped offensive line. Despite these efforts to chart a different course, the team finds itself in a familiar position—a 10-7 regular season ending with another first-round playoff exit.
“I’m worried less about the regular season,” coach Mike Tomlin said after the Steelers’ 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night when asked about the five-game losing streak via the Steelers YouTube. “We’re in the single-elimination tournament and I’m really just disappointed in how we performed tonight given the opportunity we had.”
Like any playoff team, the Steelers had an opportunity to put whatever happened in the regular season behind them. If you get hot at the right time, magical things can happen in the tournament. Yet for five playoff appearances in a row, they haven’t been able to capture any of that magic.
One of the most disappointing parts was how lopsided the game was. Like some of their other recent playoff losses, the Steelers fell into a deep hole that they had to attempt to claw their way out of. The offense finally came alive in the second half after doing nothing in the first, but it was too little, too late. I probably could have copy and pasted the same paragraph for this time last year, or their playoff appearance in 2021.
The offense was always going to be a work in progress this year with all of the new pieces, but the biggest disappointment over the final stretch of the season, including tonight, was the defense. It is the highest-paid group in the league, full of household names like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward and Patrick Queen. What did that get the Steelers? A franchise record for most rushing yards allowed in a playoff game, 28 points against, and zero turnovers.
Heck, Watt didn’t even register a single statistic in the box score.
“They were the better group today, that was obvious,” Tomlin said.
We will see how disappointed, and in turn frustrated, the rest of the Steelers’ organization is from this performance and whether that amounts to any changes throughout the offseason.
