The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their 2024 season on a five-game losing streak, falling 28-14 to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round. Head Coach Mike Tomlin also adds a loss to his playoff record, which has been a hot topic for him in recent years as he's now 8-11 overall and has lost the past six playoff games. It's a disappointing end to a season Steelers fans were hoping for improvement and when just in Week 14 the team was 10-3 and had a clear path to win the AFC North.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith sub out during a Wild Card matchup against the Ravens in 2025.
Pittsburgh's offense has been known for getting off to slow starts, but the defense didn't even give the offense a true chance to stay in the game as the Ravens went up 21-0 before the end of the first half. The highest-paid defensive unit gave up 308 total yards to the Ravens' offense in the first half. Back in Week 11, the defense allowed 329 yards for the entire game.
Something has been off with this defense. Since Week 12, a defense that was supposed to look like one of the best in the league started to go downhill. Communication issues have been blamed in the past, but once Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' offense dominated the first half, Pittsburgh's defense seemed out of it. Tomlin blamed lack of play on fatigue and not getting off the field during his post game press conference on Ssaturday.
“The X-factor was Lamar’s unique talents. It seems like every time we got him behind the sticks he made up for it or we got him in the possession down circumstance, he extended and won those circumstances and we never really found a fluid answer all day," Tomlin said. "Obviously, that was highlighted by our inability to convert third downs in the first half. They wore us down a little bit, the fatigue component of it became a factor.”
Leaders like TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward on defense came back into the game after going out momentarily with injuries. Although they both didn't have much of an impact, like the rest of the defense. Derrick Henry and Jackson made it look very easy to drive down the field and score on this defense, which has collapsed tremendously. This made the offense play catch up, which is a hole this kind of team never wants to climb out of.
Pittsburgh football is supposed to be known for its tough defense and although the defense has been the saving grace in recent seasons, something went completely wrong to end this season. An early brutal loss to the Dallas Cowboys made some fans questions\ this defense giving up the big plays and it all came back around during the five game losing stretch.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' defense prepares for a play against the Ravens in a Wild Card matchup in 2025.
Tomlin can blame the defensive fatigue all he wants, but the unit still didn't seem prepared for this game. For multiple plays, Watt or another linebacker would completely misread the play and go for one of the Ravens' running backs rather than Jackson who kept it most of the time. This brutally killed the Steelers' run defense, as well as Henry's 186 yard night.
Even though Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin likely listens to Tomlin for the defensive play calling, Austin would be most probable to be the one to take the fall, if there's any change to come. The Steelers' seasons have been the same for years, so it would be shocking for there to be no change on the coaching staff after another post season loss.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Cameron Sutton makes a tackle against the Ravens in a Wild Card matchup in 2025.
Steelers' Soon-To-Be Free Agent Defenders That Need To Come Back
Some players on the Steelers' defense that will now become free agents are Donte Jackson, Elandon Roberts, Damontae Kazee and Cameron Sutton. Realistically, only two of those guys should be back, and that's Jackson and Roberts. Kazee hasn't done much and when he has, it hasn't been memorable. Roberts is great in the run game and should be the first priority out of those players.
Sutton hasn't made an impact at all since he got off suspension. He doesn't look the same as he used to and there has been speculation of Sutton being one of the communication issue problems. Jackson hasn't been good in coverage either, but the Steelers need some depth in the cornerback room, unless they want to draft or sign someone else. Either way, this defense needs some upgrades.
Do you agree with Tomlin's excuse about the poor defensive performance? Let us know in the comments!
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