A Brief History Of The Steelers Turning Their Season Around

This week, with the whole world seemingly convinced that the Steelers are a sinking ship, I’ve been thinking about seasons in which the team started in one direction (bad or good), and wound up somewhere very different.In so many of those years, the only thing we remember is the end result, as though the results were inevitable and obvious all year long. The 1972 Immaculate Reception Steelers feel like the beginning of a dynasty, but four games into the season, they were 2-2 and looked a lot like the previous season’s 6-8 squad. The 1995 Super Bowl team feels like a disappointment because they came so close to winning a Lombardi, but they were 3-4 heading into week 8, and were not even leading their division.

The point of this exercise has been not simply to tamp down on some of the fires we’re all lighting to torch the 2021 season (though that’s probably not a bad thing). Instead, I’m also looking for possible keys that history says would help this team right the ship.
Now for part 3: the Steelers from 2007 to the present, under Coach T, Mike Tomlin.
2013
Remembered for: Not really remembered, except maybe for being the last gasps of Steelers defensive dominance.Opening Record: 2-6, with an 0-4 start.

Low point: Blowout loss to New England, 55-31 in week 8

Turnaround Streak: 6-2 (with both losses coming by literal inches)

High Point: Probably 38-31 win over Green Bay in first Packers game since Super Bowl loss; that or the season finale 20-7 win over Cleveland that guaranteed Steelers would finish .500

How did it turn around: Rushing.

Rookie Le’Veon Bell, who missed the first three weeks with an injury, made the running game a legitimate threat, which gave the defense a rest. (That’s my theory anyway.) Team rushing yards improved by 23 yards per game in second half of season, while defense improved against the rush by 32 yards per game.

Turnover margin also changed dramatically: minus-11 in first half of the season; plus-7 in second half. I credit the running game for this too, at least to a point. Bell wasn’t a fumbler, and he was both a good pass blocker and a valuable check-down guy in the passing game, so he certainly helped the offense settle down. But perhaps more importantly, when the Steelers controlled the ball with a legit rushing attack, their aging defense had time to rest, so they could come out sprinting more often, leading to better play on that side as well.
2014
Remembered for: High flying offense, birth of Killer B’s

Opening Record: 3-3

Low point: Losing to terrible Buccaneers team in week 4, or losing 31-10 to Browns in week 6

Turnaround Record: 8-2

High Point: Two week stretch that launched the turnaround, in which Big Ben threw six touchdowns in shootout win over Andrew Luck’s Colts and then six more in blowout of Ravens.

How did it turn around: Manpower leveled up on both sides.

Rookie Martavis Bryant earned his way onto the field, and the passing game immediately clicked up a huge notch. Bryant was a legit big-play threat, and he freed up rising star Antonio Brown on the other side, also allowing the Steelers to get the most out of the AFC’s rushing leader (and Steelers yards from scrimmage record setter) Le’Veon Bell.
2015
Remembered for: Vontaze Burfict’s dirty play sandbagging the team in the playoffs

Opening Record: 4-4

Low point: Opening season loss to New England, where the Steelers outplayed the Pats by almost any measure (despite the suspensions of LeVeon Bell and Martavis Bryant). Josh Scobee’s missed kicks probably cost the team in this one, as well as the other possible low point, the 23-20 loss to Baltimore in week 4 (Michael Vick’s first start).

Turnaround Streak: 7-2 (counting playoff win)

High Point: Beating eventual champion Broncos in brilliant 17 point comeback — a perfect microcosm of the season.
2016
Remembered for: Getting blasted by Patriots in AFC Title Game

Opening Record: 4-5

Low point: 4-game losing streak mid-season, culminating in loss to Cowboys where they had no answer for Zeke Elliott, who scored two touchdowns in final 1:55.

Turnaround Streak: 9-0 (before loss in AFCC)

High Point: Playoff wins against Miami and K.C.

How did it turn around: D refocused and hit a new gear; offense recommitted to the run.

After the Cowboys loss, the D held a player-only meeting and resolved to turn the season around — then delivered. They were the best D in football for last two months. During their first nine games, they gave up 381 yards per game; in the second nine contests, they only yielded 287. That’s a drop of nearly 95 yards (48 passing, 47 rushing). Good god.

Meanwhile, the offense centered around Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers rushed for rushed for 90 yards per game in the opening stretch; then 144 in the back nine. That’s a 60% rise (highlighted by Bell setting the Steelers single game rushing record in wk. 14 against Buffalo, then setting the team playoff rushing record in the Wild Card round, then breaking it the very next week in the Divisional game).
2018
Remembered for: Big Ben’s 5000 yard passing season and Le’Veon Bell’s full-season holdout.

Opening Record: 7-2-1

High point: Blowout over Carolina on national TV, followed by revenge win over Jags (after previous year’s playoff loss)

Closing Streak: 1-4 (before winning season finale)

Low Point: Heartbreaking loss to Saints in the season’s final loss (complete with two suspect DPI penalties on Joe Haden and an ill-timed JuJu Smith-Schuster fumble) which probably cost the team the playoffs.
2019
Remembered for: Mason Rudolph & Duck Hodges; Steelers suddenly becoming a great defense again; Mike Tomlin’s heroic coaching performance.

Opening Record: 1-4

Low point: Losing to powerful Ravens team in overtime where they absolutely flummoxed eventual MVP Lamar Jackson. It’s a low point because the Steelers deserved to win this one, but fell to 1-4 instead.

Closing Streak: 7-1 (before fading down the stretch)

High point: Almost any win counts here — they all felt like miracles. I’ll say the revenge win over Cleveland, two weeks after the Browns had gone headhunting on national TV, concussing Diontae Johnson so hard blood ran from his ear, before Myles Garrett tried to brain Mason Rudolph with his own helmet. The rematch win in week 13 was fun to watch.
How did it turn around: Steadiness from the top; massive turnaround on D.

I have no idea how Mike Tomlin didn’t lose the locker room in this season, but he did something brilliant behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, a surprise trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick, after the awful opening two weeks, allowed the defense to take gigantic leap forward. Eventually they led the league in sacks and takeaways, and sported three All-Pros and four Pro Bowlers (and probably two snubbed in Dupree and Nelson).

Less reported: the ground game on both sides picked up dramatically. The Steelers averaged 43 more rushing yards per game on offense during the 7-1 streak, while the defense gave up 40 yards less. That’s an 83 yard flip when the team was winning.
2020
Remembered for: Wretched playoff loss to Browns in wild card game.

Opening Record: 11-0

High point: Sweep of Ravens after multiple postponements to reach 11-0; beating succession of playoff teams in Tennessee, Cleveland, and Baltimore over consecutive weeks mid-season (again, featuring postponements that weren’t their fault).

Closing Streak: 1-5 (counting playoff loss)

Low point: Wretched playoff loss to Browns in wild card game

How did it turn around: Injuries, poor offensive scheming, exhaustion.

Injuries—especially Bud Dupree’s—did serious damage to the defense, which had started on a blistering pace, then slumped down the stretch. In particular, they bottomed out on takeaways, with 23 during the 11-0 opening; and only four(!) during the 1-5 finish.

Meanwhile, the offense devolved from a fairly balanced squad to a one-dimensional, uncreative short passing game who simply couldn’t run. The Steelers rushed for 99 yards per game in opening streak; 52 yards in the closing. (Ben Roethlisberger leading the league in passing attempts just months after major elbow surgery really should never have happened.)
How are those areas playing out in 2021?
Well coaching leadership is in good hands. (And anyone who is already chomping at the bit to argue this one, I’d refer you to 2013 and 2019 above. Few coaches in history have been so successful at turning broken teams into playoff contenders. This may just be Tomlin’s first losing season, ever, but it won’t be because the wrong guy is in charge.)