It took 15 games, but the Steelers are finally starting to look like the team Mike Tomlin envisioned. Pittsburgh will finish the 2025 season with yet another winning record, but I'm here to tell you this year is different.
Tomlin's had his best quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger was in his prime thanks to Aaron Rodgers, and has an easy path to the AFC North title. A Steelers postseason appearance ought to be a slam dunk, along with what comes with it.
How the Steelers can win the AFC North
Pittsburgh can win the AFC North in several ways. First, they can win their final two games, thus taking any decision out of Baltimore's hands. But...let's be real, this is a Tomlin-coached team we're talking about, which means a division crown won't come the easy way.
If the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Patriots AND Packers prior to their matchup against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, then Tomlin's team can clinch the North with a win over the Browns next week. If the Ravens beat the Patriots but lose to the Packers next week, the Steelers can also clinch with a win over Cleveland. However, the most likely scenario for both teams is that their season-ending rivalrly tilt is for all the marbles. In classic Steelers-Ravens fashion, Pittsburgh would either reach the playoffs or go home.
What's changed about the Steelers this season? It starts with Aaron Rodgers
I have to give the Steelers defense some credit, as they have shut down the run the past two weeks against some of the best running backs in the NFL in De'Von Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Pittsburgh's defense is far from perfect, and many of the key secondary contributors they acquired this offseason failed to deliver, but it's impossible to deny they've gotten stronger over the last month.
Rodgers has, in my opinion, been the ultimate difference-maker. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired (and even late into his career), Tomlin has overcome some of the worst quarterback play in Steelers history. Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and more weren't the guy. Rodgers just might be, even though he's 42 years old.
The Steelers have finished .500 or better for 22 straight seasons. As much as Pittsburgh football fans like to make fun of Tomlin's streak, there's no doubt it means something to him and the franchise. The Steelers are not the type of team to rebuild. Instead, they add pieces on the fly.
Yet, in that timespan, the Steelers have won just two Super Bowls, and haven't won a playoff game since 2016. Winning seasons don't mean squat when they don't amount to postseason success, which is what Steelers fans have been complaining about for over a decade.
This year, and this team, should be different. Sure, the Steelers won't win a Super Bowl, but this team wasn't built to do that. Instead, Pittsburgh's ownership did Tomlin a solid, and gave him a roster just good enough to win a postseason game, and little else. There was a lot of margin for error with this group. Tomlin has seen it through to the end.
Before the season, I predicted the Steelers would win their first playoff game since 2016 thanks, in part, to Rodgers. This is as confident as I've felt, and I'm starting to believe I'm on the right side of football history.