On paper, this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers doesn’t look much different than most of their other recent years. They finished with a winning record, making the playoffs, but they lost immediately. However, this year might feel worse than others because it seemed like the Steelers were different. That proved to be untrue when they lost their last five games. Christian Kuntz says players are as frustrated as anyone because they thought this season would be different.
“This team that we had, like the camaraderie, the guys that we had, the players that we had, I think that every single guy in there is, we’re obviously all pissed off,” Kuntz said Thursday on The Christian Kuntz Podcast. “We all would love to come back and run this back again with this exact team.
That’s obviously impossible, it’s not gonna happen because just how the NFL business works. But we’re pissed. We’re more so embarrassed. We know we were a good team.”
Most fans felt the same way as Kuntz. At one point, the Steelers were 10-3 and atop the AFC North. People were even talking about them potentially being Super Bowl contenders. Their defense was one of the league’s best, their offense was doing enough to win games, and their special teams units were regularly creating splash plays.
It feels like all of that changed in an instant. The Steelers dealt with a number of injuries, but that’s common for every team late in the year. They didn’t get ravaged enough to excuse their awful collapse. It wasn’t like they were only losing games. Opponents were blowing them out.
Kuntz’s point about the team feeling like a tight-knit group felt true too. Look at the moment between Pat Freiermuth and Najee Harris captured on Hard Knocks recently. The players were giving it their all. Things just didn’t go their way.
The Steelers’ vaunted defense flipping on its head felt like one of the biggest reasons for their losing streak. They dealt with issues that shouldn’t have plagued them so late in the season. Miscommunication and missed tackles made the defense a weakness rather than a strength.
It didn’t seem like anyone had any answers as to why things fell apart either. Mike Tomlin didn’t ever seem to have a real answer. It doesn’t sound like Kuntz does either.
“I don’t know. It’s NFL football. I’m asking myself the same thing. Like what happened? What did we lose, five straight to finish?” he said.
It might just be the case that the Steelers just ran into better teams. It wasn’t like they were losing to bottom feeders. The Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens are some of the best teams in the league. The Steelers just didn’t have what it took to overcome those teams.
It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing anyone can do to change it now. The Steelers can only work to get better for next year. They’re in a rut right now, but nothing is saying they can’t change that in 2025. It just sucks that such a promising season ended so poorly.
