When you look at the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers from a global perspective, and analyze their 7-6 record heading into Week 15, there are plenty of folks who are disappointed with the state of the season.
I get it, but should there be disappointment? Should we be shocked?
Let’s rewind the tape back to the offseason when the schedule was released. You could go back even further when we knew the opponents and location, just not the when. Either way, most people had the Steelers winning around 9 games, with many sportsbooks setting the total win number at 8.5. When Aaron Rodgers finally signed with the team, it didn’t move that prediction needle an inch.
There were people, like me, who said the ceiling for this team, assuming the ball bounces their way and they remain healthy, would be an 11 win season. Those same folks said the floor would be 9 wins, and that’s assuming those aforementioned bounces went the other way.
Here we are entering Week 15 and the Steelers have 7 wins to their name.
Yet some are still furious. But should they be? Should they be upset about how things have gone thus far?
While there have been improvements to the roster, there remained gaping holes which have yet to be filled. The result has been inconsistency at every turn. Throw in the fact the Steelers schedule has turned out to be more difficult than many imagined, and the struggles experienced in 2025 shouldn’t be stunning. If we wanted to be more specific, we can take a look at the games the Steelers have lost to-date:
Week 2: vs. Seattle
At the time if felt as if the Seahawks and Same Darnold might not be a very solid team in 2025, but they have turned into a force in the NFC. Entering Week 15 the Seahawks are a 10 win group. I’d be hard pressed to call this a bad loss, especially after Kaleb Johnson’s gaffe which gifted the visiting Seahawks a touchdown.
Week 7: at Cincinnati
Joe Flacco vs. the Steelers once again, and this Thursday Night Football game was an up-and-down affair. The go-ahead score by Pat Freiermuth was trumped only by the game winning drive by Flacco and Ja’Marr Chase. Thursday night road games are tough, but most would say if there was a game the team should have won, it would have been this one.
Week 8: vs. Green Bay
Another prime time game, another loss. The Packers utilized the tight end to torch the Steelers, and the offense didn’t do what they did the week before and put up much of a fight. On top of this being a dud of a prime time game, the Packers are a top team in the NFC, with 9 wins to their name entering Week 15. This was always going to be a tough game.
Week 10: at Los Angeles Chargers
Sunday Night Football on the west coast against the Chargers was another tough game. Sure, the Steelers could have put up more of a fight, but this was a game many chalked up to a loss prior to the season. Was it a bad loss? The Chargers are a Wild Card team with a 9-4 record, hardly a cake walk with this one being on the road.
Week 12: at Chicago
This might have been a game which most chalked up to a win before the start of the season. Ben Johnson in his first season and Caleb Johnson being a rather unknown commodity. But the Bears have turned this season into a special one, and Chicago is a 9-win team entering Week 15. This game was winnable, but when looking back it is hard to call it a bad loss.
Week 13: vs. Buffalo
The Steelers fell flat in the late afternoon tilt vs. the Bills, surrendering 249 yards on the ground. Completely outmatched to the 9-win Bills left the fan base befuddled and angry at everything black-and-gold.
When you look at things from this perspective, it is hard to be overly angry at the Steelers 2025 campaign so far. In other words, this is sort of what we predicted when the season started. The question now isn’t how they got to where they are, but how will they finish? Will they win three more games and reach 10 wins? Or will they stumble and barely land above the .500 “Mendoza Line”?
If I were a betting man I wouldn’t put a lot on the Steelers to win out, but I’m hopeful the team will put up a better showing down the stretch than we’ve seen the last two seasons. But the moral of this story is the Steelers are right where we all thought they’d be, why so angry?
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Dolphins in Week 15 on Monday Night Football.