The Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs last season, but they didn’t feel like an actual postseason threat. They ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak, looking like a mess. That carried over into the playoffs with the Steelers getting crushed by the Baltimore Ravens. This year, they’re hoping to change that. The Steelers want to be Super Bowl contenders. However, for them to do that former Steelers safety Ryan Clark thinks they can’t afford to stumble out of the gate in September.
“I believe this team has to start fast,” Clark said Monday on ESPN’s First Take, “especially thinking about the way their seasons have ended when you think about Coach [Mike] Tomlin’s last decade as the head coach.
“Also, adding Aaron Rodgers and what it’s going to be like in the microscope that this team will be under in the way that they play according to the scoreboard, and also in the way it feels and the way it looks, the chemistry between those two. I believe it’s important for them to get off to a fast start so they can be in competition for the playoffs the entire year.”
Clark is correct that Tomlin’s Steelers have wilted down the stretch in recent years. Last season wasn’t an anomaly. In 2023, the calendar turned to December, and the Steelers dropped three straight games to some of the worst teams in the league. While they went on to win their final three games, that cold stretch almost sunk their season.
The 2020 season is another great example of the Steelers falling apart to end the year. They were 11-0 before lost four of their last five games. In 2019 and 2018, the Steelers also crumbled as those seasons ended.
However, despite their rough end to 2024, they started the season hot. At one point, they were 10-3, but the end of their schedule was a gauntlet.
This season could be similar. While the ending of the Steelers’ schedule doesn’t look as daunting, it still features some tough opponents. In the last six weeks of the year, the Steelers’ opponents include the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the Detroit Lions, and the Ravens twice. Those games are still far away, but at the moment, they look intimidating.
In contrast, the beginning of the Steelers’ schedule looks more favorable. They’ll only face one playoff team from last year over their first four games. Then they play the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Those are both division opponents, so they won’t be cakewalks, but those two teams have glaring flaws.
Will the Steelers’ playoff chances evaporate if they start slowly? No, but they will shrink depending on how poorly that start is. If they really fall flat on their faces and start 0-4, they’ll be a longshot for the postseason.
However, they managed to start fast last year amidst a shuffle at quarterback. This year, with Aaron Rodgers and company working diligently to get on the same page, their offense could look a little more fluid to start the year. Picking up some early wins would probably do a lot for the Steelers’ confidence, too. They don’t want to carry last year’s losing streak into this season.
