Reality Check for the Steelers as AFC’s Top Four Teams Repeat 2024 Divisional Round Feat in 2025

Some things never change. That’s how the Pittsburgh Steelers are feeling after yesterday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC wild card round. Head coach Mike Tomlin’s team has now dropped six straight postseason games, giving Tomlin the second-longest playoff losing streak in NFL history.

One result of the Steelers’ defeat is the AFC playoff picture being identical to last year’s at this time. The Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Ravens, and Houston Texans all made the AFC Divisional round again this season. The seeding and pending matchups differ, but the four teams involved remain the same.

If the top-seeded Chiefs beat the fourth-seeded Texans and the third-seeded Ravens topple the second-seeded Bills next weekend, the AFC Championship game would also feature the same teams in back-to-back seasons. The last time that happened was 2022-23, when Kansas City hosted the Cincinnati Bengals in consecutive conference title matchups.

How can the Steelers get over their postseason woes?

Pittsburgh is in an odd position. Under Tomlin, the Steelers have never finished below .500 in a season. That’s an 18-year streak many franchises envy. However, Pittsburgh has also not won a playoff contest since 2016. A perpetual presence amongst the NFL’s middle tier is maddening to Steelers fans.

Unless you have a historically dominant defense, you need a difference maker at QB to win in the playoffs. Pittsburgh can – and often does – capitalize on worse teams’ mistakes in the regular season. But playoff-level organizations, who often feature superstar quarterbacks, don’t typically shoot themselves in the foot against less-talented foes in January.

Because Tomlin frequently wins with less-than-stellar quarterback play in the regular season, the Steelers are never high enough in the NFL Draft to land a blue-chip QB prospect. As a result, they’ve not had a top-shelf signal-caller since Ben Roethlisberger was exiting his prime. To find a path back to the divisional round and beyond, Pittsburgh must acquire a difference-making quarterback.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem feasible in the short term. The Steelers would have to trade a massive package of picks to get in range for Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward this year. And unless they think Sam Darnold is the real deal, there’s no potential answer in free agency.

So… what should Pittsburgh do? It’s hard to say. Russell Wilson was not nearly as bad as Steelers fans perceived him to be, but the former Seahawk is also not on the level of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. Most neutral observers likely wouldn’t say he’s on par with C.J. Stroud either.

Beyond Wilson, there’s only one quarterback with a Super Bowl-level ceiling that could be available: Aaron Rodgers. The 41-year-old four-time MVP comes with his own unique baggage, though, and is far from a guaranteed solution. That said, if Pittsburgh is hell-bent on winning a postseason matchup in 2025, he may be their best option.