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| Photo creds to The New York Times |
When the Steelers and the Patriots met at Heinz Field last December, the only question regarding Pittsburgh's spot in the postseason was where it would be seeded.
The Steelers entered last's year's edition of their fictitious rivalry with the Brady Bunch at 11-2, having clinched the AFC North the week prior. The only thing left to accomplish in the regular season was to beat New England and ensure home field advantage throughout the postseason. Although the Steelers lost to the Pats in controversial fashion, Pittsburgh still ended the season with a 13-3 record and a first-round bye, something that has happened far less frequently than one might think.
While the Steelers identify as a team with more than enough regular season success, the position Pittsburgh was in going into last year's game, having secured a division title in early December, was an anomaly. Since the Steelers' last Super Bowl appearance in 2010, last season was the only time the Steelers avoided Wild Card weekend. The situation that presents the Steelers for this year's matchup against New England, where the team is fighting for a playoff spot in Week 15, is much more familiar.
It's common knowledge that the Steelers haven't maximized their potential over the past decade. This team's failures to get to the Super Bowl are well documented. Coming into this week's game, however, there's a strong possibility that Pittsburgh won't even have a chance to disappoint in January. While missing the postseason with this roster would be an embarrassment, fighting for their playoff lives in mid-December is a scenario that's been far too frequent for the Steelers in the Ben-Brown-Bell era.
In 2015, the Steelers needed another AFC team to lose in Week 17 to sneak into the playoffs. Luckily, that team was the New York Jets, so Pittsburgh got in. The next year, the team's only somewhat successful playoff run almost never happened. With less than a minute left in and the AFC North title on the line, Pittsburgh trailed the hated Baltimore. Fortunately, the best receiver in the world made the most famous play of his career on Christmas Day,, reaching across the goal line for the winning score.
So if the Jets didn't blow it in '15, and if Antonio Brown fell short at the goal line in '16, the Steelers would be looking at missing the playoffs for the third time in four years. Which is weird, considering off-the-field drama and postseason disappointments are the only things Pittsburgh struggles with.
The question that has plagued the Steelers over the past five years is: why can't this group get to a Super Bowl? What we should be asking as well is: why can't this group win more in the regular season? A team that is as good as the Steelers playing in a division as weak as the AFC North shouldn't break a sweat getting into the postseason on an annual basis. Pittsburgh coming into Week 15 fighting for the AFC's number one seed, as it was last season, should be the case this Sunday. Instead, the Steelers are more likely to miss the playoffs entirely than go to the Super Bowl.
The biggest thing that Mike Tomlin's supporters point out to defend the head coach is his regular season track record, and while the Steelers have had plenty of success between September and December, are Pittsburgh's regular-season accomplishments somewhat overrated? Not winning in the playoffs is one thing, but in the regular season, Pittsburgh should rule the AFC North the way the Patriots have ruled the AFC East for the past two decades.
Instead, for the third time in four years, it's December, and we have no idea if the Steelers will play past Jan. 1
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