1. First-quarter blues
The only Pittsburgh Steelers losing streak uglier than the one over the past four games they’ve played is the five-game postseason skid they likewise carry into Saturday’s playoff game in Baltimore.
The Steelers have been outscored by an average of 13.0 points per game over the past month since they most recently won a game Dec. 8. They’ve been outscored by an average of 14.0 points per game in the playoffs since they most recently won one Jan. 15, 2017. While the offense can’t score in this 2024-25 skid (peaking at 17 points), the defense hasn’t stopped opponents from scoring in the eight-year playoff skid (allowing 31-plus points in all five).
But at no stretches during either distressing streak are things more ghastly than at the start of games.
The only way to blunt getting out-scored an aggregate 40-3 in the first quarter over their final four games of this just-completed regular season is to compare it to the Steelers’ first-quarter point differential during their past five playoff games.
Sixty-six to nothing.
Dating to the 2016 AFC championship loss to New England (36-17) and continued through defeats to Jacksonville (45-42 in January 2018), Cleveland (48-37 four years ago), Kansas City (42-21 the following year) and Buffalo (31-17 last season), the Steelers trailed a combined 66-0 after the first quarter of those games.
2. Dreadfully eye-popping numbers
In terms of drives that began and ended in the first quarters of those postseason games, the Steelers netted just 136 yards while opponents netted 529.
Over these past four weeks the net yardage deficit for the Steelers for possessions played entirely in the first quarter is 456-58.
Add that up, and the aggregate yardage edge for Steelers’ opponents during possessions that ended in the first quarter of the Steelers’ four-game regular-season losing streak and five-game playoff skid is 985-194.
3. Which has been worse?
The blame can fall virtually equally between the offense and defense for these awful starts during the dueling and ongoing losing streaks.
The offense has had nine possessions contained the first quarters of the past four games — seven ended in punts, one via interception and the lone first-quarter points came on a drive that went backwards 8 yards (a special-teams fumble set up the Steelers in field-goal range during the Dec. 14 loss in Philadelphia).
The Steelers over the past month have netted three first downs and 48 yards in nine drives — and that includes a 59-yard march on Christmas Day against Kansas City… that ended with a Russell Wilson interception.
The first-quarter offensive tally during the Steelers’ current postseason losing streak? Seventeen possessions, nine first downs, 11 punts, five turnovers and one turnover on downs. Only four of the 17 drives gained at least 10 yards, only six got at least one first down.
Defensively, during the playoff win drought the Steelers have allowed more touchdowns (eight) than induced punts (seven) during first quarters.
The Steelers’ defense over these past four recent games? In 10 possessions against that began and ended before the end of the first quarter, five ended in touchdowns and two via field goals versus only two punts and one forced fumble.
4. Senior citizens
Of the 14 teams in the playoffs, only two rosters on average are older than the Steelers. According to data compiled by Bookies.com, the mean age for the Steelers on the day the regular season ended was 27 years, 10 months and 18 days. Only Minnesota and Washington had “older” rosters among those who qualified for the postseason.
Green Bay has the “youngest” roster of any current playoff team (25 years, 9 months, 6 days old on average as of last week), followed by Denver and Los Angeles Rams.
The Ravens are in the middle as the seventh-oldest of the 14 postseason teams.
Measured on the day the regular season opened, the Steelers’ roster had the ninth-oldest average age of the 32 NFL teams. Their starting quarterback (Wilson) is the team’s oldest player, and their two first-team AP All Pros are their second- and third-oldest players (defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and kicker Chris Boswell, respectively).