Terry Bradshaw on Tomlin and Steelers’ decline
Former Steelers QB and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw questions the Steelers’ contender status and reflects on Coach Mike Tomlin’s playoff legacy.
Sports Seriously
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a good spot to clinch a third straight playoff berth, a sixth consecutive winning season and an AFC North division crown for the first time since 2020.
As the Steelers closed out Week 15 with a “Monday Night Football” game against the Miami Dolphins, they did so with the comfort of holding their division lead no matter what happened. A win would keep Pittsburgh a game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the standings, and a loss would drop them back into a tie for first – and the Steelers currently hold the edge in the tiebreaker.
Baltimore’s Week 15 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals in a shutout put a bit of extra pressure on the division leaders before “Monday Night Football.” But both the Ravens and Steelers are still locked in the AFC North title race with three weeks left to play.
Here’s a full look at Pittsburgh’s playoff picture in Week 15:
Steelers playoff odds
The NFL’s Next Gen Stats give the Steelers a 61% chance to make the playoffs in 2025. It’s the sixth-highest chance of the eight teams still in the playoff bubble or in the hunt – not including the Denver Broncos, who have already clinched a spot.
If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, it would mark a third straight postseason appearance for the Steelers and fifth in the last six years. The team has not won a playoff game since 2016, when it advanced to the AFC championship game before falling to that year’s eventual Super Bowl-champion Patriots.
Pittsburgh is also now one win away from securing a sixth straight winning season and 22nd consecutive non-losing season. Head coach Mike Tomlin has led the Steelers through 18 non-losing seasons in a row so far, and a 19th in 2025 would tie him with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for the second-longest streak in NFL history. Former Cowboys head coach Tom Landry had 21 consecutive non-losing seasons between 1965-1985.
The Steelers would be on the right side of the playoff bubble if the season ended after Week 15, but only by a bit. They have the worst record of the AFC’s four division leaders and wouldn’t have a strong enough win percentage to snag a wild-card spot if they lost the division lead.
Steelers remaining schedule
The Steelers still have two divisional games left in the last three weeks of the season, but that does not make the schedule more challenging. Pittsburgh’s future opponents have a cumulative win percentage of .429 as Week 15 draws to a close.
Tankathon rates Pittsburgh’s remaining schedule as the 10th-easiest league-wide. Here’s who the Steelers still need to play:
AFC North standings
The Steelers held the AFC North lead heading into their “Monday Night Football” game against the Dolphins. They’re in a tight battle with the Ravens for the division lead with three weeks to play and another head-to-head clash with Baltimore looming in Week 18. With a win over the Ravens in their first meeting last week, Pittsburgh holds the advantage in a tiebreaker.
Here’s a current look at the AFC North standings:
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6, 3-1 AFC North)Baltimore Ravens (7-7, 3-2)Cincinnati Bengals (4-10, 3-2)Cleveland Browns (3-11, 0-4)
Entering Week 15, the Bengals had an outside shot at making the playoffs if they ran the table and contended for the AFC North title. Their loss to the Ravens on Dec. 14 mathematically eliminated them from postseason contention.
AFC playoff pictureDenver Broncos (12-2, AFC West leaders)*New England Patriots (11-3, AFC East leaders)Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4, AFC South leaders)Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6, AFC North leaders)Los Angeles Chargers (10-4, wild card No. 1)Buffalo Bills (10-4, wild card No. 2)Houston Texans (9-5, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Indianapolis Colts (8-6); Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
Asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff berth
Eliminated: Miami Dolphins (6-8); Kansas City Chiefs (6-8); Cincinnati Bengals (4-10); New York Jets (3-11); Cleveland Browns (3-11); Las Vegas Raiders (2-12); Tennessee Titans (2-12)