The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered arguably the worst loss of the Mike Tomlin era, falling to the 3-12 Cleveland Browns with the division on the line. After the Ravens beat the Packers on Saturday night, all the Steelers had to do to clinch the division was beat one of the NFL’s worst teams. Instead, in typical Steelers fashion, they fell flat. Now they face a win-or-go-home showdown with the Ravens on Sunday night.
If this season was not already frustrating enough, it has once again exposed what has been apparent for years. The Steelers desperately need meaningful change, but continue to cling to the status quo. Something has to give.
If a team that nearly had the division locked up collapses by losing to Cleveland and then Baltimore, a team that started the season 1-5, then Sunday night should be a game where Tomlin is coaching to keep his job.
Mike Tomlin could be coaching for his job as the Pittsburgh Steelers HC on Sunday Night Football
There are no excuses left for Mike Tomlin. This is a results-driven business and a what have you done for me lately league, and Tomlin has not delivered meaningful results in nearly a decade.
You cannot blame the roster. Tomlin has one of the strongest voices in how this team is built. You cannot blame the coordinators. He hired them. After years of different rosters and different staff, the outcome is always the same. The finger keeps pointing back to one common denominator.
The Steelers have not won a playoff game in almost nine years. They have not won the AFC North since 2020. Tomlin’s teams have consistently underperformed and underachieved. The never having a losing season streak needs to be put to rest. At this point, it is meaningless.
Missing the playoffs or entering the postseason only to lose immediately is a losing season when judged by the true standard of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is winning Super Bowls. This franchise has not come close to that standard in over a decade.
For far too long, Tomlin teams have collapsed late in seasons or lost to inferior opponents. The most recent loss is a perfect example. The Browns are not a good football team. They started slowly, fell behind 10-0, and were never threatened, managing only six points all game. That is unacceptable with the division on the line.
After everything that went into this offseason, this was clearly an all-in approach. The Steelers were aggressive in a way we have not seen in years, making trades and major free agent signings to try to make noise in the playoffs. Anyone claiming this was a rebuild or bridge year is lying to themselves.
You do not sign players like Aaron Rodgers and Darius Slay or trade for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith if you are not trying to win now. These were the moves Tomlin believed would finally get the team over the hump. Instead, they look like a colossal failure.
If Steelers ownership and the front office have any pride or awareness, Sunday night should matter. Whether it leads to a mutual parting after the season or a decision to decline Tomlin’s 2027 option and let next year be his final season, hard choices have to be made. Seasons like this have become a pattern, and there is no clear direction forward.
Look around the league. Teams like Jacksonville, Chicago, and New England have shown how a new head coach can change a franchise’s trajectory. In Pittsburgh, things have gone stale. Desperately stale. Change is needed.
Sunday night against the Ravens should be a defining moment for everyone involved in this organization.