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Pittsburgh Steelers: The five worst losses of the Mike Tomlin era

By Chris Halicke

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 16: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on in the third quarter during the game against the New England Patriots at Heinz Field on December 16, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 16: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on in the third quarter during the game against the New England Patriots at Heinz Field on December 16, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – JANUARY 08: Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos beats Ike Taylor #24 and Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers to the ednzone as he goes 80 yards for the game winning touchdown on the first play of overtime at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 8, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Steelers 29-23 in their AFC Wild Card Playoff game. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 08: Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos beats Ike Taylor #24 and Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers to the ednzone as he goes 80 yards for the game winning touchdown on the first play of overtime at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 8, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Steelers 29-23 in their AFC Wild Card Playoff game. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

1. 2011 AFC Wildcard Game: Broncos 29, Steelers 23 (OT)

The name Tim Tebow will always haunt Steelers fans. He was a player that did not have the skill set to be a good NFL quarterback, yet the Mike Tomlin era forever has his mark on it. The Steelers Super Bowl hopes were ended by Tim Tebow.

In the season following their loss in Super Bowl XLV to the Packers, the Steelers finished strong with a 12-4 record. They did however miss out on the AFC North crown via the tie breaker owned by the Baltimore Ravens, who swept not only the Steelers in 2011, but the entire AFC North. Consequentially, the Steelers were forced to be the 5th seed and have to travel to Denver to take on Tebow and the 4th seed Broncos.

The Steelers had difficulty in the first half in scoring points. Denver, however, scored 20 points on four straight possessions and took a 20-6 lead into the locker room at half time. The Steelers defense got gashed for pass gains of 51, 30, 58, and 40 yards on those four Denver drives.

The Steelers roared back in the second half, going touchdown, field goal, touchdown on their first three possessions in the second half. Denver could only manage a field goal the entire second half. The defense made the necessary adjustments, and it looked like the Steelers were going to escape Denver when they got the ball back with 1:37 remaining with the scored tied 23-23.

The Steelers could not get anything going. Ben was sacked three times and the Steelers headed to overtime.

The Broncos won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball for overtime. On the first play of overtime, Tim Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard pass for a touchdown and eliminated the Steelers. Tebow finished the game 10-for-21 for 316 yards and two touchdowns.

The loss sent shockwaves through Pittsburgh. The Steelers followed the 2011 season with back to back 8-8 seasons in 2012-2013. Meanwhile, the once-great-but-now-aging defense began to retire very quickly, pushing rebuilding the defense to the top of the priority list.

An era in Steelers history came to an ugly and sudden close with a loss to Tim Tebow’s Broncos.

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