The Pittsburgh Steelers need to stop lying to themselves

Another year, another Pittsburgh Steelers season ending in a humiliating Wild Card exit under head coach Mike Tomlin. Monday night’s 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans marked a ninth straight season without a playoff win, the worst home playoff defeat in franchise history, and an NFL record fifth consecutive playoff loss by double digits. If that was Aaron Rodgers’ final game, it will stand as his only postseason start without a touchdown, unless you count throwing a pick-six on his last throw as a touchdown pass.

This version of the Steelers has mastered the art of jogging in place. The last truly Super Bowl caliber Pittsburgh squad was in 2017, and even that group crashed out as a 13-win No. 2 seed to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round. Not coincidentally, that’s the last time Pittsburgh was good enough to make it that far. Every subsequent iteration has ranged from mediocre yet somehow above .500 to the completely fraudulent 12-4 team in 2020 that started out 11-0 and ended the year losing five out of six, including a brutal Wild Card exit against the Cleveland Browns. They’ve spent the past five seasons fittingly at either nine or 10 wins.

Mike Tomlin won’t be back as head coach after 19 seasons, and given the minimal postseason accomplishments since winning the Super Bowl 17 years ago and reaching another one 15 years ago, it might have been time to move on. But how deep into the playoffs should Tomlin have gone with cooked Rodgers, washed Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, and a physically diminished Ben Roethlisberger? The real problem at the core of Pittsburgh’s current plight is the organization’s refusal to acknowledge that they don’t have a “win now” roster no matter who the quarterback is. The Steelers had the NFL’s most expensive defense in 2025 and were a so-so 19th in EPA/play (and 22nd without turnovers). Their much cheaper offense was similarly middling, although at least the advanced metrics were more favorable toward Pittsburgh’s running game than the passing attack. Aaron Rodgers ranked dead last among all starting quarterbacks in air yards per attempt, making him functionally incompatible with big-play threat DK Metcalf, whose first season with the Steelers after being traded by the Seattle Seahawks ended with his fewest catches and yards per game since he was a rookie.

Above all else, the Steelers are old. They’re not bereft of young talent, but they are sure as hell overflowing with aging talent.

Four of their six highest cap hits for 2025 were 31-year-old T.J. Watt, 36-year-old Cameron Heyward, 31-year-old Jalen Ramsey, and 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. This isn’t to ignore the disastrous $10 million contract handed to 35-year-old cornerback Darius Slay, who was waived in December after only 10 appearances. Even if Watt and Heyward are still very important and productive players, time is ticking away and there is nothing to indicate that the Steelers are a piece or two away from winning a playoff game, let alone making a Super Bowl run.

The Steelers have long been the NFL’s hallmark of stability; it’s why they’ve only had three coaches since 1969 and have lost more than 10 games in a season just once during that span. Between an expensive, aging defense that struggles to function without generating turnovers, as well as an offense without great receiving depth or a long-term successor to Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, this version of the Steelers is only showing stability through stagnation.

This isn’t to say that Pittsburgh’s front office should go into tank mode for draft picks, but it’s clear that prolonged water treading has grown tiresome for a franchise rich with playoff success. General manager Omar Khan made some significant offseason decisions like (aside from signing Rodgers) acquiring Metcalf while trading away George Pickens and Minkah Fitzpatrick, so it’s not like 2025 was a case of staying the course. The problem is Pittsburgh fooling themselves into a series of short-term “win now” fixes for a team that has practically no long-term vision. It’s time for the Steelers to acknowledge a real major overhaul is needed, which may involve tough, bold decisions like trading T.J. Watt and making a concerted effort to focus on building a younger squad with more upside. They’re not going to be a true contender any time soon until they stop using flex tape to patch up a leaking dam.