It became a tired trope by the end: the Steelers haven't finished below .500 since 2003, and Mike Tomlin never had a losing season in 19 years as coach. In a league designed for parity, that's a stupid level of consistency. By the end, though, the streak had lost most of its meaning.
A fanbase spoiled by six Lombardi trophies was tired of settling for "just better than average" season after season, even if Tomlin's ability to squeeze winning records out of teams that often had no business winning more than they lost remained impressive. The reality was this: Pittsburgh hadn't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, and another eight- or nine-win season wasn't proof the Steelers were still close to contention. It was starting to look like proof that they were stuck.
The Week 3 win over Cincinnati bought Pittsburgh a week of false hope, but Thursday night in Cleveland offered a sobering reminder of exactly where this team is. The Steelers followed their best performance of the season with a mostly lifeless, predictable one — at least if you've been paying attention. And let's be real: this is who Pittsburgh is.
Good enough to steal a few games every year, but not a team you're taking seriously in January. And if you're willing to accept that premise, then there is another way to look at that 22-year streak: What if the losing season the Steelers have spent all this time avoiding is exactly what this franchise needs? That doesn't mean anyone at the facility should be trying to lose games.
Players and coaches don't operate that way, and losing by itself guarantees nothing. Plenty of bad teams stay bad for years. The larger question is what Pittsburgh should do if it discovers, again, that this team isn't good enough to seriously contend.
Is squeezing eight or nine wins out of another season really preferable to finally accepting reality? Because Pittsburgh has confused avoiding the bottom with remaining near the top. These are not the same thing.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
