Grab a six pack, Pittsburgh Steelers fans. You’ll need it to get through the memories conjured up in looking back at this sextet of poor postseason performances that comprise the Steelers’ current six-game playoff losing streak:
2016 AFC championship at New England
The Steelers’ skid began modestly enough — who can blame them for losing at the dynastic Patriots, who were at the peak of their Tom Brady- and Bill Belichick-led powers?
Star running back Le’Veon Bell had combined for 337 rushing yards over two playoff wins to get the Steelers to a record 16th AFC title game, but Bell suffered a groin injury on the Steelers’ second offensive play. Though he took four more carries, Bell was shut down during the second quarter.
Meanwhile, what was that season’s No. 10 scoring defense in the NFL had no answer for Brady, who threw for 384 yards and three touchdown passes with no interceptions in a 36-17 final.
2017 AFC divisional round vs. Jacksonville
The AFC’s No. 2 seed after losing “The Jesse James Game” in December to New England, the Steelers’ postseason opener was against a young and hungry Jaguars team that three months prior had beaten the Steelers handily (30-9) at what was then called Heinz Field.
The rematch was just as ugly, even if the final score (45-42) does not make it appear as so. Jacksonville jumped out to a 28-7 lead and rolled on the strength of three Leonard Fournette rushing touchdowns and a Telvin Smith return of a Yannick Ngakoue strip sack of Ben Roethlisberger.
2020 AFC wild-card game vs. Cleveland
This was the only other home game during this playoff losing streak — but it was seen in person by only several hundred people, because it was the height of the pandemic. Good thing, because any Steelers fan who would have been in attendance would have covered their eyes in horror from the first play from scrimmage.
Future Steelers Hall of Honor inductee Maurkice Pouncey — playing in his final NFL game — airmailed the first snap over the head of Roethlisberger, and it was recovered 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage for a Cleveland touchdown.
Four minutes later, Roethlisberger threw his first of four interceptions; the Browns scored three plays after that. Before the first quarter was over, Roethlisberger had thrown another pick and the Browns were up 28-0.
Cosmetic, garbage-time touchdowns made the final score 48-37. But it wasn’t that close.
2021 AFC wild-card game at Kansas City
It was the final appearance of Roethlisberger’s 18-year career; at least he went out in the postseason after leading a comeback overtime win in Baltimore the week before. But against the reigning AFC champion Chiefs, the Steelers were no match.
Roethlisberger needed 44 attempts to eke out 215 yards — many of them in the second half, after Kansas City had taken a 35-7 lead. What’s wild is the Chiefs did not lead until inside the 2-minute warning before halftime, when Patrick Mahomes threw his second of five touchdown passes on the day.
Mahomes had 404 passing yards, many of them coming over a remarkable span of 11 minutes and 31 seconds that spanned halftime in which the Chiefs scored 35 points.
By the time the 42-21 whitewash ended, it felt like an eternity since the Steelers’ T.J. Watt opened the scoring with a 26-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
2023 AFC wild-card game at Buffalo
Riding the wave of Mason Rudolph leading a regular season-closing three-game winning streak, the Steelers’ travel to Western New York was impacted by a snowstorm that forced a postponement of the game by a day.
After a rare 4:30 p.m. Monday kickoff, though, it wasn’t that long after 5 p.m. that the Steelers had effectively been eliminated.
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the first half as the Bills went out to a 21-0 lead. Not unlike many among the 70,040 fans who shoveled snow from their own seats, the Steelers gamely dug out of that hole as best they could. A 7-yard touchdown pass from Rudolph to Calvin Austin III with 10:32 left pulled them to within 24-17. But another Allen touchdown, to Khalil Shakir four minutes later, sealed the Bills’ 31-17 win.
2024 AFC wild-card game at Baltimore
Reeling from a four-game losing streak after blowing an AFC North lead to the Ravens, the Steelers traveled to Baltimore for the second time in a 22-day span. The result wasn’t much different than the 34-17 beatdown they endured Dec. 21.
That day, the Ravens rushed for 220 yards. It was even worse — significantly so — in the rematch. Derrick Henry had 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Lamar Jackson had 81 rushing yards, 175 passing yards and two passing touchdowns as Baltimore rode a 21-0 halftime lead en route to a 28-14 win that extended the Steelers’ postseason misery (at least) another year.
