For nearly two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have lived in the margins -- hovering at .500, fighting through physical battles late in the year, and maintaining a level of organizational consistency under Mike Tomlin matched by few across the league.
But consistency has not yielded postseason success. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, and every trip since -- from the Jaguars in 2017, to the Browns in 2020, to last year’s loss to Baltimore -- has ended the same way: not enough pressure, not enough disruption, not enough impact plays when they mattered most.