Steelers Now
The divisional round of the NFL playoffs has came and went, but not before delivering some entertaining contests. However, this past weekend was more about reflection for a Pittsburgh Steelers organization that has failed to advance in the postseason for eight straight seasons, their longest streak in the modern era.
This begs a question that will consume much of the staffs time over the next nine months: What steps are necessary to ensure they’re still playing football at this point next season?
Replicating specific recipes is often a fools errand. For example, the Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen’s of the world don’t exactly grow on trees. Finding an impact level player at the quarterback position certainly goes along way, though.
Just ask the Washington Commanders, who are in the middle of their best season in decades behind a historic rookie campaign from Jayden Daniels. Regardless of who the next steel city signal caller is, Pittsburgh has to take something away from these playoffs and that’s to prioritize the offensive side of the football.
Last summer, I wrote a lengthy piece about how the landscape of the NFL has changed and it’s left certain teams, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, behind the times in an unfriendly way. Since 2018, 26 of the 28 conference championship teams have boasted an offense that’s ranked inside the top-10 in EPA/play. This is a trend that continued in the 2024 playoffs. All four of the units left standing get it done in different ways and while having solid quarterback play is pre-requisite to making a deep playoff run, three of the offenses remaining boast rushing attacks ranked inside the top five of the rushing EPA/play metric, with the exception being the Kansas City Chiefs. For reference, Pittsburgh finished 20th in this category.
Offense is king but defense still matters, just maybe not as much as some traditionalists think. Since 2018, only 11 of the 28 teams that have reached the conference finals have fielded a top ten defense in EPA/play. This year, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the best groups in all of football and it’s been a big part of their success. As for the other three teams remaining in the postseason, their squads feature those in the middle of the pack. So, frisky or competent, but far from dominant. That’s not to say having a great defense is a bad thing because that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ideally you’d be incredibly well-rounded but rarely is that the case.
Recent history has proven to us that defense no longer wins championships on it’s own. It’s just simply not where the NFL is now and that’s unlikely to reverse course for a multitude of reasons. It does make you wonder, however. Do the Pittsburgh Steelers know this and are they willing to adapt with the times? After all, this is the same front office that fielded the cheapest offense in the NFL last season and to no one’s surprise, received middling results...
