Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are yet again out of the playoffs on short notice. They went toe-to-toe with the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round and lost 30-6.
While they kept things respectable for much of the night, the Texans exploded in the fourth quarter and ran away with the game. The loss, though, marks an interesting record for Tomlin’s Steelers.
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Postseason success has been in short supply in recent years for Pittsburgh. Even after making the blockbuster move of acquiring former MVP Super Bowl-winner Aaron Rodgers, the team still couldn’t do much in the playoffs.
Their misfortune is highlighted by the fact that ESPN insider Adam Schefter mentioned on X. “Steelers now have lost each of their last seven playoff games dating back to the 2016 AFC Championship Game, the longest playoff losing streak in franchise history,” he wrote. “None of last five games have been overly competitive, as they’ve lost each by double digits.”
His ESPN colleague, Brooke Pryor, echoed the sentiment, adding another interesting detail to the thought. “The Steelers are the first team in NFL history to lose five straight playoff games by double digits,” she tweeted.
The Steelers are the first team in NFL history to lose five straight playoff games by double digits (via @ESPNInsights)
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) January 13, 2026
Monday night’s loss against the Texans didn’t look bad until the fourth quarter. Rodgers and company were only trailing 7-6 heading into the final period when the wheels blew off.
Pittsburgh’s Wild Card loss from last season looked worse in some ways, as quarterback Russell Wilson and the offense only scored the team’s first points in the third quarter. The Baltimore Ravens walked over them, 28-14.
The Steelers’ first-round loss in 2023 saw another double-digit thrashing, this time at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on the road. Josh Allen beat out Mason Rudolph 31-17, as Pittsburgh didn’t even lead the game once. They missed the postseason in 2022 after a 21-point demolition by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs the year prior.
The trend dates back to the 2010s, to the twilight years of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s career. While “Big Ben” stands as one of the most successful shot-callers in Steelers history, the waning years of his run in pro football didn’t see playoff success.
Mahomes retired him in 2022, and the last time Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh tasted postseason glory was in 2016, when they took it all the way to the Conference Championship Game. Although they lost to the New England Patriots in that game, they went on to topple the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
