The 2025 season was another disappointment for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While they won the AFC North for the first time since the 2020 season, they still didn’t win a playoff game. Mike Tomlin stepped down this offseason, but that isn’t stopping the Steelers from trying to compete for a championship. They’re as committed to winning as ever. Analyst Ryan Wilson sees the Steelers’ best-case scenario as slightly better than last year, including the potential for a fantastic first half of the season.
“You talk about 11-6, and that feels about right for a Steelers team pre- or post-Tomlin era,” Wilson said Wednesday on CBS Sports HQ. “They’re just good enough to find their way into the playoffs, but not good enough to make a deep playoff run.
“I don’t know if that changes this year with Mike McCarthy, with Aaron Rodgers running it back. They could legitimately, if they’re red hot, win those first eight games and find their way to 11-6 down the stretch.”
The Steelers haven’t started a season 8-0 since 2020. They started that year 11-0, and they looked like one of the AFC’s best teams. Unfortunately, they collapsed to end the year, losing four of their last five games. While they made the postseason, they also failed to win a game there.
The first half of the Steelers’ 2026 schedule doesn’t look too intimidating, either. Only one of their first eight opponents made the playoffs in 2025, and that’s the New England Patriots. They made it all the way to the Super Bowl, but the Steelers beat them last year. Maybe they can do it again.
However, the second half of the Steelers’ schedule looks a little more daunting. They’ve got a stretch where they’ll face the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, and Carolina Panthers. All of those teams made the playoffs last year, and they figure to be in the mix again in 2026.
Still, there’s a lot of time between now and then. There’s no telling what the NFL landscape will look like come Week 10 and beyond. Some of those teams could be worse off.
Steelers fans would be thrilled with an 8-0 start. Even going 11-6 would be nice, especially after the Steelers finished at 10-7 the last three years. However, going 11-6 after starting 8-0 would feel more disheartening. That means Pittsburgh would go 3-6 after its bye week. That wouldn’t inspire much confidence in the Steelers to win a playoff game, if they even make the postseason.
No matter their record, the Steelers’ goal is to make some noise in the playoffs this year. If they don’t end their playoff win drought, then nothing else matters.