The Pittsburgh Steelers were looking like one of the better teams in the league throughout the 2024 regular season, but that all changed once the final stretch of the year rolled around. The Steelers lost their final four regular season games and then got embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs. At one point, the team was 10-3, in control of the AFC North, and was even in play for the one-seed in the AFC. Things began to fall apart - the offense was more inconsistent than usual, and the defense struggled like the fan base has never seen before.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin looks on during a tough game against the Ravens in 2024.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin was under fire after the collapse to end the season, and a large portion of the fan base was calling for his job. A five-game losing streak to end the season is completely unacceptable, especially when it is the eighth consecutive season without advancing in the playoffs. Fans everywhere were curious what exactly happened that caused the Steelers to lose their final five games of the season, and defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko was able to provide some clarity on social media.
I can’t speak for everyone but imo Depth played a huge role. Volume plays a big role in January and you gotta be able to role out 1-2 punch combos at every position outside of QB and OL. Also scheduling didn’t help playing the top 3 teams in the league in a matter of 13 days.
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) February 26, 2025
The Steelers' four losses to end the regular season came against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously Philadelphia and Kansas City wound up meeting in Super Bowl LIX, while the Ravens were also one of the best teams in the league. The Bengals had the best passing attack in the NFL, so the stretch of games Pittsburgh did lose was no cake-walk.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson runs against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 of the 2024 regular season.
The schedule may have been hard, but good teams have to win difficult games in order to have success. Pittsburgh clearly could not do that in 2024. Aside from scheduling, Fehoko also mentioned depth. The only positions that are truly on the field every play, barring injury, is along the offensive line and at quarterback. Everywhere else on the field, teams try to keep their players fresh by rotating depth pieces in. This is most commonly seen on the defensive line, at outside linebacker, and at wide receiver.
Just depth man. You want your best players fresh in the best games of the year. If there’s someone out there saying there’s a specific offensive/defensive scheme that you need to run to be successful they are lying to you. Every system has been ran and discovered. Just execution.
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) February 26, 2025
Fehoko seems to think this was an issue for Pittsburgh, which would make sense considering the defense could not stop the run throughout the losing streak. The defensive line needs fresh legs throughout a contest, but there also needs to be quality talent coming in and out of the game. The Steelers have needed help along the defensive line for a couple of seasons now, but 2025 seems to be the time to properly address the issue.
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Steelers General Manager Omar Khan speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN.
Steelers Should Be Able To Dramatically Improve Defensive Line During 2025 Offseason
Luckily for the Steelers, defensive tackle is the deepest position in the 2025 NFL Draft. The organization has eight picks in the event and should be able to take at least one or two players who could help at the position. There are also several options in free agency, with BJ Hill being at the top of the list in Pittsburgh as he is a great scheme fit.
What do you think the Steelers need to do to address the problems stated by Fehoko? Let us know in the comments below!
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