Steelers Come Out Flat Once Again in Playoffs

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Steelers’ playoff woes continue in Orchard Park as they have gone down 21-0 against the Bills. It’s similar to Groundhog’s Day, when you know what is coming repeatedly. This is not new for Mike Tomlin or Pittsburgh once they enter the dance. Just for reference, the deficits for the team after the first quarter against these teams has only worsened over time.

They have trailed the Patriots 10-0 in the 2016 AFC Championship, the Jaguars 14-0 in their home loss in the divisional round, and 28-0 against the Browns in their Wild Card loss at home. The only exception is the Chiefs, who they were tied with and eventually did get blown out by, losing 42-21 in that game.

Steelers 1st quarter playoff scores. Last 5 playoff games:

Bills 14-0
Chiefs 0-0
Browns 28-0
Jaguars 14-0
Patriots 10-0

That’s 66-0 folks.

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 15, 2024

The Steelers’ playoff success has been lacking in recent seasons. They have not won a game in the playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs since January 15, 2017. That means they have been outscored 68-0 in their previous playoff games. Earlier on Monday, Mike Tomlin stated that he would not project his past failures onto this team.

“That’s my story,” he said to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com. “That’s not [Nick] Herbig’s story. In 2016 Herbig was probably in ninth grade. A guy like Elandon Roberts was playing for another team. It’s not their burden to bear. I don’t ask them to tote my luggage. I don’t project my luggage onto them. This is the 2023-24 Pittsburgh Steelers, and I’m concerned about this journey and rallying cries as it pertains to this group. And sometimes you’re kidding yourself if you think history like that is important to guys who weren’t a part of it. It’s not.”

There are scant few members of the Steelers organization that have been here for that four-game playoff losing streak beyond Tomlin. Only defensive tackle Cam Heyward and kicker Chris Boswell will suit up on Monday as players that were also with the club in 2016.