The standard is the standard.
It is a phrase Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin often uses during his press conferences. And unfortunately for him and the Steelers, they lived up to their standard of underperforming against a team they were expected to beat on Sunday.
The game was not the Steelers’ first loss to a team they were favored against that may keep them out of the playoffs under Tomlin. Whether or not the blame goes to Tomlin for these losses is hotly debated around Pittsburgh and the NFL, however it is still a trend that is getting noticed.
Prior to Sunday’s 20-17 loss at the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers were the darlings that no team wanted to face in the playoffs; after, those teams may not have to worry about it. It wasn’t a win-or-go-home caliber loss, but they now need some help to make the playoffs.
The team’s last loss of this magnitude came back in Week 16 of the 2012 season. The winner of that game would make the playoffs, the loser eliminated from contention.
That game was similar to Sunday’s result. The Steelers lost 13-10, and two late interceptions thrown by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger set up a Josh Brown 43-yard game winning field goal.
However, the Steelers can point to losses against teams they should have beaten earlier in that season as to why they missed the post-season.
Overall, there are numerous bad losses suffered by the Steelers since Tomlin took over in 2007. None were as individually harmful for the team’s playoff hopes as their loss to the Ravens on Sunday or their loss to the Bengals in 2012, but they were nonetheless hard to watch for Steelers fans.
Here is a year-by-year look of the Steelers upset losses.
2007 – In Tomlin’s first season, the Steelers finished 10-6 and won the AFC North. However, they had some late-season struggles against team they probably should have beaten. In Week 11 the Steelers traveled to New York to face the 1-8 Jets. Running back Thomas Jones had 117 rushing yard – the first game the Steelers allowed a 100-yard rusher since Edgerrin James in 2005 – and Mike Nugent hit a 38-yard game winning field goal in overtime to seal the 19-16 upset and dropping the Steelers to 7-3.
Another noteworthy game that year was their following game against the winless Miami Dolphins. In the infamous mud bowl remembered for a punted ball landing stuck in the grass in front of Steelers returner Allen Rossum, the Steelers and Dolphins played the lowest scoring Monday Night Football game ever, and was the longest a game remained scoreless since 1943. Yes, the Steelers won 3-0 on a Jeff Reed 24-yard game winning field goal, however they were still almost upset by the 0-10 Dolphins.
2008 – The Steelers four losses before winning Super Bowl 43 all came by way of teams that made the playoffs.
2009 – Mike Tomlin’s “Unleash Hell” speech after a November loss to the Ravens is probably most remembered for the team’s collapse that year. The Steelers, down to third string-quarterback Dennis Dixon, fell to 6-5 after a 20-17 overtime loss to the Ravens in Week 12, however still were in a good position to make the playoffs. Roethlisberger returned for the following week, a home game against the Oakland Raiders. Then-Raiders and current Steelers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski shocked the Steelers with a 27-24 win. Gradkowski threw 308 yards and three touchdowns, his last to Louis Murphy with nine seconds left in the game.
They traveled to Cleveland the following Thursday, and lost 13-6 to the 1-10 Browns. Roethlisberger was sacked eight times, and the team lost their fifth in a row. It was the Browns first win over the Steelers since 2003. The Steelers finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
2010, 2011 – All eight losses these two years came to playoff teams.
2012 – In Week 3 at the 0-2 Raiders, Darren McFadden ran for 113 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. Sebastian Janikowski’s 43-yard field goal as time expired dropped the Steelers, who had a 31-21 lead at one point, to 1-1.
Two games later, the Steelers traveled to Tennessee to face the 1-6 Titans. The Titans came back down 23-16, and won on a 40-yard game winning field goal by Rob Bironas 26-23.
Pittsburgh almost lost to the 1-7 Chiefs, however pulled out a 16-13 overtime win on Monday Night Football, though lost Roethlisberger to injury. Two weeks later, third-string quarterback Charlie Batch started in Cleveland. The Steelers used four running backs, had a total of eight fumbles (five lost) come from five players and Batch threw three interceptions before the Steelers lost 20-14 to the 2-8 Browns. Pittsburgh finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
2013 – Despite being favored by a touchdown at home against the Titans, the Steelers lost their first game of that season 16-9. Three weeks later in London, the Steelers fell to 0-4 after losing to the winless Minnesota Vikings 34-27. With 13 second left, Roethlisberger was strip-sacked by Everson Griffin at the Vikings’ 6-yard line to clinch the Steelers’ worst start since 1968.
After two wins, the Steelers traveled back to Oakland to face the 1-5 Raiders. Terrelle Pryor’s 93-yard scamper on the first play from scrimmage of the game set the tone for the Raiders, who completed the 21-18 upset. The Steelers did rally from the 2-5 start and nearly made the playoffs as an 8-8 team, however missed for the second straight year.
2014 – The Steelers did return to the playoffs that season, but not without a few embarrassing losses along the way. The first came in Week 4 against the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. Vincent Jackson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left in the game to give the Buccaneers a 27-24 loss. Tampa Bay only won one other game that year.
Against the Browns in Week 6, Cleveland got off to a 31-3 lead before winning 31-10 and dropping the Steelers to last in the division at the time. In Week 10, the Steelers faced a 1-8 Jets team and again lost. The Steelers turned the ball over four times in the loss and fell to 6-4.
2015 – The aforementioned loss to the Ravens was the only true upset loss. They did lose to the 0-3 Ravens in Week 4, however Roethlisberger did not play. The game is most likely remembered as the game Josh Scobee missed two field goals, causing Tomlin to go for it on fourth down in overtime, which they did not convert. Including the playoffs, the Steelers have lost four of five to the Ravens, and eight of 11 since 2011.
While the Steelers have had their fair share of ugly losses over the years to teams with inferior records, only the Bengals loss in 2012 had this big of an impact on the Steelers playoff implications. Having that in mind, Sunday may have been one of the worst losses of the Mike Tomlin era.
