The Pittsburgh Steelers have played 92 seasons in the NFL, their 93rd starting in just a few months. There’s been highs, lows, and everything in between. In a new series we’ll use to pass the time of the offseason, I’m ranking all of them. From the worst season in franchise history to the best, which means picking which of the six Super Bowl winners came out on top. Not an easy task.
We’ll break this series down into parts, (roughly) 10 at a time, working from worst to best. One small caveat. I won’t be including the team’s two merger years, 1943 and 1944 where Pittsburgh combined with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Cardinals due to a shortage of players because of WWII. Since these were merger years where Pittsburgh wasn’t fully its own entity, they fall into a separate category. We will rank the other 90.
Ranking Every Steelers Season (No. 90-81)
90. 1941 season (1-9-1 record)
Welcome to the worst of the worst. The worst year in Pittsburgh history. Logically, it stands to reason one of the 30s teams would be here. A lost decade when the Steelers weren’t even called the Steelers, going by the Pittsburgh Pirates through 1939. There was plenty of bad over that time but 1941 is the franchise’s clear winner. Or loser.
Why? A quick run through of the reasons. Pittsburgh had three head coaches, the worst margin of defeat in team history (losing by 15.7 points per game), lost in blowout fashion the majority of its games, and finished last in every major category across the NFL. It was truly that bad.
Bert Bell began the season as the Steelers’ head coach. He was canned after two games, losses to the Cleveland Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. Aldo ‘Buff’ Donelli was brought on, temporarily serving in the unique role of simultaneously coaching a college and NFL team. Donelli coached the nearby Duquesne Dukes and the Steelers. But the NFL found the setup untenable and forced him to pick just one. Donelli quit the Steelers to coach the more successful college squad. Walt Kiesling, fired the year before, was brought back as interim-interim head coach for the team’s final three games. He was the only one to win a game.
Pittsburgh scored just 103 points all season while allowing 276. That net minus-173 point differential is the third-worst in team history, only trailing two seasons when the team played 14 games instead of 11. Six of the team’s nine losses came by at least 27 points: 54-7 to Green Bay, 35-7 to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and 34-7 to the Chicago Bears. The Steelers lost those Packers and Dodgers games as the final two contests of the season, meaning they ended the year falling by a combined 74 points. The Steelers threw just five touchdown passes and a whopping 34 interceptions on the year.
The Eagles and Rams were nearly as bad, winning two games apiece all season. Both netted one of their victories against Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ lone win came in a 14-7 upset over the Dodgers late in the year. The only tie came the week before against the Eagles.
Finishing last in overall record, points for, and points allowed, this Steelers team wasn’t just bad but historically terrible every which way. The worst season in franchise history.
Notable: Prior to Matt Canada’s 2023 midseason firing, Aldo Donelli was the last coach to step down/be removed midseason.
89. 1965 season (2-12 record)
Even before the season began, things were taking an ugly turn in Pittsburgh. Head coach Buddy Parker quit weeks before the season began after repeated disputes with ownership. He was replaced by Mike Nixon, who held the role for just one season. It only got worse once the games kicked off.
This is only one of two seasons in franchise history in which the Steelers lost at least 12 games. They dropped their first five games of the year and each of their final seven, the only reprieve a two-game winning streak in Weeks 6-7. The only wins came over the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, teams they would lose to later in the season. The rematch against the Eagles was particularly bad. Not only was it in blowout fashion, 47-13, the Steelers turned the ball over 12 times. Nine interceptions, three fumbles lost. Tied for the most giveaways in single-game history.
Those turnovers were on the extreme side, but Pittsburgh had six or more of them in four of 14 games. It finished with 57, second-most in team history.
Notable: Pittsburgh allowed 53 touchdowns on the year, the most in franchise history.
88. 1934 season (2-10 record)
It’s little surprise to see one of the team’s first seasons appear on this list. 1934 was Pittsburgh’s second year in the league. Going by the Pirates, a tactic to drum up interest shared by the far more popular baseball team, this season was a snoozer. In 12 games, Pittsburgh scored 51 points. That’s 4.3 points per game. To put that in perspective, it would be like watching the 2025 Steelers score 72 points.
In six games, Pittsburgh was shut out. Since the franchise’s 1933 inception, that ties an NFL record and is easily Pittsburgh’s worst mark. The team’s next-closest number in a single year is three, half of that. The Steelers (I’ll still refer to them as such to limit confusion), never scored more than 13 points in a game and combined, registered only 17 over their final seven contests.
Pittsburgh’s defense didn’t fare much better. Their 206 points allowed were second-worst in the NFL only “ahead” of the 0-8 Cincinnati Reds, who have a case for being the worst team in football history. They were the source of one of the Steelers’ two wins that year and the second-closest games the Reds played the year, a 13-0 final. The bright spot is that was Pittsburgh’s first-ever shutout. Counts for something, I guess.
Notable: Pittsburgh scored just six offensive touchdowns all season, an average of one every other game.
87. 1939 season (1-9-1 record)
There’s reason to argue 1939 should be even higher on the list. It was a bad year but didn’t quite have the historical twinge of miserable the seasons ahead did. Still, there was plenty to get nauseous over. In the last year they’d be known as the Pirates before switching to Steelers for 1940, Pittsburgh lost or tied its first 10 games before avoiding a winless season in the regular-season finale. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-12, three days after losing to them. NFL schedules were extra weird back then. A true Toilet Bowl, the Steelers and Eagles each only had one win, picking it up against one another.
Pittsburgh scored just 14 total points over the first four weeks. “Leading” rusher Boyd Brumbaugh finished with just 282 yards. The passing attack finished with eight touchdowns and 34 interceptions. And the team had two head coaches in Kiesling and Johnny “Blood” McNally, one year after retiring as a full-time player.
The team’s worst loss of the year came in a 32-0 shutout to the Chicago Bears, a game in which the Steelers recorded just 54 total yards of offense.
Notable: The ’39 Steelers finished the year with more punts (76) than completions (70).
86. 1969 season (1-13 record)
Better known as Chuck Noll’s first season. Though it set the foundation for a dynasty that began five years later, it was still a tough year. A roster purge and cultural reset. Pittsburgh won Noll’s first game, defeating the Detroit Lions, 16-13, before proceeding to lose their next 13. The 13 losses remain the most in single-season franchise history.
Out of 16 teams, the offense finished 15th in scoring. The defense finished last. In fact, the Steelers allowed 404 points on the season, the second-most in team history in aggregate. At 28.9 PPG, it’s the worst average in franchise history.
The main reason why this season isn’t higher on the list, despite the objective worst win percentage, is because of the team’s more competitive nature. Five losses were by seven points or less. The team’s negative 13.3 margin of victory is terrible but *only* fourth-worst in franchise history.
Notable: Three different quarterbacks played in 1969: Terry Hanratty, Kent Nix, and Dick Shiner. All three threw more interceptions than touchdown passes.
85. 1940 season (2-7-2 record)
The most memorable part of the season is that it was the team’s first year under the “Steelers” label.” It didn’t change the results. Pittsburgh scored just 60 points all season and never more than 10 in a game. Starting the season 1-0-2 like a soccer team thanks to back-to-back ties against the Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants before notching a 10-7 win against the Detroit Lions, things looked okay early. But the team dropped its next six games to fall to 1-6-2 by early November.
Pittsburgh broke the losing skid with a 7-3 win over the Eagles before falling 7-0 to Philadelphia in the regular-season finale. Over their final seven games, the Steelers were outscored 144-30. They threw four touchdown passes all season and had only two rushing scores. It was the NFL’s worst offense. You probably already guessed at that.
Notable: Kicker Armand Niccolai led the NFL with 14 field goal attempts. But he only made six of them, though that still ranked second-most in the NFL. A sign of the times when kicking was often (less than) a coin flip.
84. 1945 season (2-8 record)
The first season following the team’s mergers with the Eagles and Cardinals. Bad times continued. Pittsburgh lost five of its first six with one of the team’s two wins coming over the 1-win Cardinals late in the season. That, at least, came in a confident 23-0 shutout. The other victory came in admirable fashion, a 14-point defeat of the New York Giants. That was the good.
Now, the bad. Pittsburgh scored just 79 points all season. Over their final three games, the Steelers were outscored 82-13. All led by Jim Leonard in his only season as the Steelers’ head coach.
The most “impressive” stat was a doozy. Pittsburgh threw zero passing touchdowns all season. Since 1935, the ’45 Steelers are the NFL’s only team to ever accomplish that. Safe to assume no other team will do it again.
Notable: In his only NFL season, Sid Tinsley led the league in punts (57) and yards (2,308).
83. 1968 season (2-11-1 record)
The final year before Chuck Noll’s arrival and season that signaled a change from head coach Bill Austin was needed. The Steelers opened the season 0-6 and then went on to lose their final five games. Their minus 153-point differential is fifth-worst in a single season and ’68 marked just one of four years in franchise history with 11 or more defeats. Neither side of the ball was even close to average, but the defense was the more egregious offender. The Steelers’ 397 points allowed were the NFL’s most.
Pittsburgh’s ugliest loss came in Week 3, a 41-7 defeat to Don Shula’s Colts. The Steelers’ only points came in garbage time while trailing 41-0.
There were at least some bright spots. Pittsburgh blew out the Atlanta Falcons, 41-21. Wide receiver Roy Jefferson caught four touchdown passes, which remains a Steelers single-game record. He and RB Dick Hoak made the Pro Bowl. Defensively, LB Andy Russell and DE Ben McGee were also chosen.
Notable: Pittsburgh allowed exactly 45 points in exactly three games in 1968: against the Los Angeles Rams (45-10), Cleveland Browns (45-24), and San Francisco 49ers (45-28). It’s the most number of times the Steelers have allowed 45 or more points in a year. The NFL record is five, set by the 1950 Baltimore Colts and 1966 New York Giants.
82. 1938 season (2-9 record)
Pittsburgh’s season got off to a half-decent start, beginning 2-3 thanks to wins over the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. But Pittsburgh would lose its final six games by an average of 11.9 points. Though the defense ranked ninth out of 10 teams, it only allowed 15.9 points per game and kept the Steelers competitive.
The offense simply couldn’t score, managing just 7.2 points per game and scoring 21 – total – over Pittsburgh’s final six contests. The Steelers never registered more than 17 points in a game, held to single digits in eight of their 11, and were shut out three times. The passing game produced just five touchdowns and 32 interceptions.
Johnny McNally served as head coach, going 6-19 during his three-year stint, fired early into 1939 as noted above.
Notable: Pittsburgh made just one field goal all season, an 18-yard conversion by Armand Niccolai in a win over the Dodgers. Since 1933, the ’38 Steelers are one of just 30 teams to make no more than one field goal in a year. The last one to do it? The 1952 Dallas Texans, who made zero of them in their lone NFL season. They went 1-11.
81. 1988 season (5-11 record)
The last team on this edition’s list is also the most recent. One of Chuck Noll’s final seasons, it was ugly from the get-go. Pittsburgh allowed 421 points, the most it has ever given up in a single season (more than 26 per game). Pittsburgh allowed 30-plus points in six games while being held to under 17 in half of them.
Their five victories remain the Steelers’ fewest in a 16/17 game season.
The season got started off on the right foot with a win over the Dallas Cowboys. But the Steelers lost their next six and suffered a separate four-game losing streak late in the season. They struggled against their AFC Central division brethren, going 1-5. Swept by the Cleveland Browns by a combined 50-16 score, the Steelers also fell to the Bengals 42-7 in Week 10. It remains Cincinnati’s largest win over Pittsburgh.
Every quarterback who played threw more interceptions than touchdown passes: Steve Bono, Todd Blackledge, and Bubby Brister. Combined, 15 touchdowns to 20 interceptions.
Notable: Pittsburgh’s defense recorded only 19 sacks, the team’s fewest since sacks became official in 1982. Defensive end Tim Johnson “led’ the way with four.
Ranking Steelers’ Seasons (Recap)
90. 1941
89. 1965
88. 1934
87. 1939
86. 1969
85. 1940
84. 1945
83. 1968
82. 1938
81. 1988
