The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't ease their way into January... they were pulled into it, breath held, by the final snap of the 2025 regular season. A missed field goal by Baltimore's Tyler Loop, the last play of the NFL calendar, became the hinge that swung the Steelers into the postseason.
Survival, not dominance, earned them a Wild Card date with the Houston Texans, and an absolute war could be on the horizon with one of football's most suffocating defenses on Monday night.
Pittsburgh enters the playoffs knowing exactly who it is and, just as importantly, what it can't be.