Steelers Avoid the Division Basement for Another Year
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No matter what happens in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ final five games, it’s guaranteed that they won’t finish in the basement of the AFC North. The Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night secured that Pittsburgh wouldn’t finish in fourth place in the division.
The Steelers streak of avoiding the basement of the division is now extended to a remarkable 36 years. The last time the Steelers finished in last place in the division was in 1988, a 5-11 campaign. On the flip side, the Browns have not won a division title since 1989.
Entering the season, Pittsburgh had an 8.5 win total, which was the worst in the AFC North. The Steelers currently are atop of the AFC North at 9-3 and have a 1.5 game advantage over the Baltimore Ravens.
Another streak could be extended on Sunday.
The Steelers have not been swept by the Browns in a season series since 1988. The 32-season streak is the longest such streak in NFL history for division opponents, according to Dale Lolley of Steelers.com. The Browns were not around from 1996-1998 after owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore, so that’s why it’s 32 years instead of 35.
The odds are on in the Steelers favor, as they opened as 6.5-point favorites against the Browns for Sunday’s rematch, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The Browns have also lost the past 20 regular-season games in Pittsburgh.
One thing is clear, the Steelers have been a stable and consistent franchise over the last 50+ years. I mean, they’ve had only three coaches since 1969 — Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. Tomlin clinched an 18th consecutive non-losing season with Sunday’s 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Overall, the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003, which is by far the longest active streak in the NFL. With the win over Cincinnati, the Steelers tied the longest non-losing season streak in NFL history with the Dallas Cowboys’ 21-year run from 1965-85. The Steelers finished 8-8 four times over the past two decades (2006, 2012, 2013 and 2018). The next-longest streak of non-losing seasons is 19 by the New England Patriots. New England never had a below .500 season during their two separate dynasty eras from 2001 to 2019.
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