Every year the Pittsburgh Steelers enter the season with the same goal and expectation of winning the Super Bowl. Since the 2016 season, they haven’t even won a playoff game. For that reason, there is an elevated level of pressure on Mike Tomlin and the rest of the coaching staff to break the unfortunate five-game losing streak. They have oriented their entire offseason—which has been full of uncharacteristic changes on the coaching staff and roster—around being competitive in the playoffs. Team president Art Rooney II even expressed a level of impatience with the continued playoff futility.
Tomlin has made the most of some poor situations over the last few seasons, including a 10-7 finish in the 2023 regular season and a playoff berth in a season where the Steelers started three different quarterbacks, six different safeties, and seven different inside linebackers.