The predictability of the Steelers' loss to the Cardinals is why Tomlin should be on the hot seat

Before we get into the bulk of this article, it must be made clear that we think Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL, a hall of fame coach, and someone that every player in the league would want to play under. Along with this, the Cardinals team that beat the Steelers on Sunday would likely be better than 3-10 if they had Kyler Murray all season. With all that being said, it is time to start questioning the leadership of this team, starting with Mike Tomlin.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were humiliated by one of the worst teams in the league in the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a game that starts an ‘easy’ four-week schedule for Pittsburgh that should see them gain enough wins to make the playoffs. And while Mike Tomlin’s team still may well be in the final 14 teams, the loss to the Cardinals summarises how this team hasn’t looked like a contender since the 2018 season where they didn’t even make the playoffs (the reason we say 2018 is because that Steelers team beat the eventual Super Bowl champions and went on the road and were a fumble away from beating the Saints who made the NFC championship that year). This article isn’t necessarily specifically about the 24-10 loss the Steelers just suffered at home to a team that hasn’t won a road game since November 13th, 2022, it is about how the Steelers haven’t looked as if they will cause a threat in years, yet there has never once been any suggestion that Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat. Of course, it would be ridiculous to say that Tomlin is a bad coach, but to say he is an elite one would also be a questionable statement. Let’s take a look at the Steelers seasons since the last time they won a playoff game.

2017 season: 13-3, eliminated in Divisional round after first round bye. This team was certainly a contender. Many believed they could win it all, and if it wasn’t for an overturned Jesse James touchdown catch in week 15 vs the Patriots in the battle for the no. 1 seed, or if Ryan Shazier didn’t suffer a horrendous career-ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals, then things may have ended differently. Neither of those things can excuse shipping 45 points at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round though. It seemed on this occasion the Steelers were underprepared and looking ahead to a rematch with the Patriots instead of focusing on the team that had handed them one of their 3 regular season losses.

2018 season: 9-6-1, missed playoffs. This season’s Bills remind us of the 2018 Steelers a lot. A team filled with talent, with an elite quarterback, who somehow missed the playoffs (the Bills could still sneak in of course). The Steelers were 7-2-1 at one point in the 2018 season, with that tie coming in week 1 against a Browns team that was led by Hue Jackson who had won 1 game in two seasons with Cleveland. Then came the late season collapse. A loss to the Broncos that went into the game at 4-6, helped by Tight End Xavier Grimble not cutting back for a touchdown but instead trying to truck a defender and fumbling through the endzone. Then came a loss to a strong Chargers team at home where the Steelers led 23-7 at half. Then a loss to the 2-10 Raiders (sound familiar?). After that disastrous loss the Steelers showed their talent and why they were contenders, beating the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots, 17-10. Then came a heartbreaking loss on the road to the Saints in a game that in fairness the Steelers were very unlucky to lose with two fumbles, a failed fake punt, and some questionable refereeing decisions. With that loss it was no longer in the Steelers hands after they were defeated in 4 of their last six. Collapse.

2019 season: 8-8, missed playoffs. This season started off with a humiliating 33-3 loss to the Patriots. Of course, the rest of the season Pittsburgh were mainly led by Mason Rudolph and ‘Duck’ Hodges due to Ben’s injury, so Tomlin gets somewhat of a pass. Though, given the defensive talent this team possessed, losing on the road to the Jets in week 16 was an embarrassment and another showing of a lack of preparation. But it would be harsh to criticise an 8-8 season when backup quarterbacks were under centre for the majority of games.

2020 season: 12-4, eliminated in Wild Card round. The 11-0 team. Started off the season with 11 wins and 0 losses, and while some critics were too harsh in saying that this team played no one when it beat the Ravens and Titans on the road in back-to-back weeks who were two of the best teams in the league at the time, this team was never a contender. The late season collapse showed that. An embarrassing loss at home to Washington. Then a few weeks later a loss on the road to the 2-10-1 Bengals (sound familiar?). The Steelers won the AFC North but then were embarrassed on home turf in the playoffs as they gave up 48 points to the Browns (sound familiar?).

2021 season: 9-7-1, eliminated in Wild Card round. Big Ben’s last hurrah. The Steelers scraped into the playoffs this season with a messy 16-13 win in Baltimore to end the season. The tie they had by the way was at home against the 0-8 Lions, and even with Mason Rudolph at Quarterback there is no excuse for a result like that. Once again, the season ended with an abysmal playoff performance, as the Chiefs scored 42 points against Tomlin’s team (sound familiar?). This is a very forgettable playoff game though as no one even gave the Steelers a chance, so it’s often overlooked as how bad a loss it was. The Steelers lost a playoff game 42-21 and no one batted an eyelid, a real sign of how far the Pittsburgh Steelers have fallen.

2022 season: 9-8. Once again, a team with an awful offense and once again a mediocre season. The Steelers won last six of their last seven against the following quarterbacks to finish 9-8: Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Sam Darnold, Derek Carr, Tyler Huntley, Deshaun Watson. While you can’t criticise victories this team missed out on the playoffs and was blown out whenever they faced a contender outside of the division, losing 38-3 to the Bills and 35-17 to the Eagles.

That brings us to the 2023 season where the Steelers sit with a 7-5 record with five games remaining. While that doesn’t seem too bad at first glance, the fact that the Steelers have a -37-point differential, which ranks 29th in the NFL, tells you all you need to know about how good (or in this case, bad) a team they are. While the argument can be made that they ‘find a way to win’, that is not something you should have to do in every game you win. Every Steelers win has been by one score and 3 of their 4 losses have been blowouts (the Cardinals loss may have been by only 14 but if you watched the game, it was comfortable for Arizona the whole second half). Good teams don’t win close every time, they show their dominance when they are against an inferior opponent, or at least put up a fight against contenders. Of course, counter points can be raised such as they beat the Ravens or the fact that the Eagles have won most of their games close. To argue against those, division games are always close (especially Ravens games), and the Eagles have proved their strength as a team by beating sides like the Dolphins, Cowboys, and Chiefs. Everyone who has paid attention to the Steelers this year knows they are not a contender and knows if they scraped in the playoffs, they would be blown out in the first round and that has been the case since the 2019 season. One might point to the poor offensive play over the past few years due to bad offensive coordinators and that is true, but who oversees the hiring of those coordinators? Many thought it couldn’t get worse than Randy Fichtner, but when his assistant Matt Canada was hired it got a whole lot worse and Mike Tomlin let the awful performances continue until midway through this season, when Canada’s stamp has well and truly been left on the team. Along with this, the defense has not played at an elite level this season nor last season and don’t let the redzone turnovers or elite play by a few players fool you. Injuries to the linebackers are a factor yes, but you cannot be seen as an elite group if you give up 30 to the 49ers in week 1 or 30 to the Texans in week 4, then of course getting bullied by the Cardinals all day to give up 24. Yes, the lack of offensive production doesn’t help but what also doesn’t help is not gaining a turnover against a team that went in at 2-10. Even the 2020 defense that was seen as elite by many couldn’t compete when push came to shove in the playoffs and next thing you know the Browns have put up 48 in your own back yard. Take the Steelers last 3 playoff games, they have given up an average of 45 points per game. That is historically bad, especially for a head coach that is much more involved on the defensive side of the ball.

You would never have thought that a Mike Tomlin led Steelers team would be one of those teams that wastes hall of fame careers, but it must be said that TJ Watt is wasting his time in Pittsburgh as he won’t be getting near a Super Bowl championship any time soon and the same goes for All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. It’s hard to imagine but it wouldn’t be a surprise for players of their talent to request a trade to try and get a ring given their play is deserving of one.

The point of all of this is to say that the Steelers have not been a contender under Mike Tomlin for a long time and haven’t won a playoff game in even longer. The constant under preparedness for games is inexcusable. Any Steelers fan who has watched the team under Tomlin would have known this was a trap game and the reason for that is a lack of preparation for games over the years. A freak loss can happen but when it’s this consistent, there is a reason. The struggle to find any sort of offensive firepower for the past five seasons (including this one) at some point comes down to the head coach. The Steelers play the 2-10 Patriots on Thursday Night Football and if they lose that one then maybe the pressure will really start to mount on Tomlin as head coach. What’s funny is, even if the Steelers were to lose, we would not be convinced the season is over as it wouldn’t surprise us to see the team then win 3 or even all 4 of their remaining games after New England, but then it would be an inevitable playoff loss in the first round.

Until we see something drastically change, Mike Tomlin should be on the hot seat.