The Pittsburgh Steelers are back to square one after another one-and-done postseason. Mike Tomlin is back on the hot seat after now going eight consecutive seasons without a playoff victory. After the team's demoralizing 28-14 loss against the Ravens, Tomlin and the Steelers aren't catching any breaks from the media. Even former players for Tomlin and the Steelers are completely disgusted with how the team played on Saturday night.
The Steelers have been historically bad during the first quarter in the playoffs. Pittsburgh has now lost six straight postseason games and failed to score a single first quarter point in that span. The offense has struggled with fast starts for years now, and it won't just magically happen in the playoffs when they're playing a true elite team. Bryant McFadden, a former cornerback for Pittsburgh, shared his thoughts on the Steelers loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
"When you look at how bad they were in the regular season, one would think the sense of urgency would be put on display, especially to start the game off," McFadden. "They were sleeping at the wheel. They didn't even play around with their food. They didn't even look at their food. It was just there. In terms of playoff football, especially when you're on the road, you have to get off to fast starts to be able to snatch the momentum away from the home team."
The Steelers only moved the chains for a first down twice in the first half against Baltimore, who went up 21-0 by halftime. Tomlin and the Steelers' frequent and common slow starts in the playoffs have completely held the organization back from getting back to winning Super Bowls.
McFadden is just one of the many NFL analysts around the NFL that is completely perplexed with how the Steelers finished the 2024 season. With the biggest goal of the season being a postseason victory, the Steelers are much further away from where they want to be compared to what they expected.
Colin Cowherd also gave his thoughts on Sunday.
The last month of football has been torturous for the fans and the players. Brooke Pryor of ESPN reported that there was a sense of relief in Pittsburgh's locker room after the season had finally ended. The Steelers have bad vibes in the locker room right now, and all they can do is plan for 2025.
Steelers Need To Switch To Being Offensive-Minded Group
The Pittsburgh-way has always been to dominate on the defensive side and control the run game on offense. It's now 2025 and the NFL is evolving each year. In a division with quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, the Steelers need to start being aggressive offensively.
The Steelers haven't been a true threat offensively since the "Killer Bees" era, which was over five years ago. Tomlin has always depended on his defense winning games, and that's led to his infamous non-losing season streak.
Until the Steelers make some serious organizational changes and start investing in the offense, the Steelers will never find themselves close to winning a championship. The amount of money that Pittsburgh spent towards this current defense to get the results they've gotten is unacceptable.
The Steelers will have another interesting offseason ahead as they will try to avoid a ninth-straight season without a playoff win. Somewhere along the way, Pittsburgh needs to find a solution to these slow starts late in the season. Tomlin and the Steelers were just the third team in NFL history to enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. What do you think about McFadden's comments?
