Steelers report to training camp intent on ending ‘too long’ streak of playoff failures
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Since he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017, outside linebacker T.J. Watt has enjoyed a treasure trove of individual success.
He has tied the NFL single-season sacks record. He has been named the league’s defensive player of the year. He received a nine-figure contract that made him the highest-paid player at his position and altered the franchise’s approach in handing out guaranteed compensation.
From a team perspective, though, something has been lacking for Watt. A playoff victory, for starters.
The Steelers have reached the postseason in just three of Watt’s six NFL seasons. And they are 0-3 in those games despite being a prohibitive favorite at home in two of those contests.
“It’s been too long,” Watt said Wednesday. “I haven’t done it yet here. That’s important to me.”
The last time the Steelers won a playoff game was 2016, when they reached the AFC championship with wins against Miami and Kansas City. Counting the loss at New England that kept them out of the Super Bowl, the Steelers have lost four consecutive playoff games under coach Mike Tomlin.
On the day the Steelers reported to training camp at Saint Vincent with the goal of returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010 season, Watt said it’s time for the drought to end.
“You can’t win a Super Bowl if you don’t start with a playoff game,” he said. “We’re always trying to take it one game at a time, but certainly we know the end goal is to win a Super Bowl. And to do that, you have to start with winning playoff games.”
After reaching the postseason in 2020 and 2021 in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final two seasons, the Steelers came up short last year with a 9-8 record. That the Steelers regrouped at midseason after a 2-6 start by going 7-2 in the second half — behind rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett — and ending the season on a four-game winning streak provides a measure of optimism.
“We saw what we did well,” Pickett said. “We took a lot of things from the bye week, fixed them and got them right. That was a good point to build off.”
The 7-2 second half coincided with an improved running game that was nonexistent in the first half. And Pickett did his part by reducing his mistakes, throwing only one interception and leading four game-winning drives.
Based on the Steelers’ offseason approach at constructing the roster, they want to stick with that philosophy. They signed left guard Isaac Seumalo in free agency, drafted left tackle Broderick Jones in the first round and traded for veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson to pair with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
“We finished really strong, and I think that was our identity,” running back Najee Harris said. “We know what our identity is now, so we have to move forward and keep doing it. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year.”
Pickett, though, tempered any enthusiasm about the Steelers automatically picking up where they left off when the regular season opens Sept. 10 against San Francisco.
“You definitely have familiarity with players and the guys you’ve had reps with, so there is momentum in that sense,” he said. “But nothing we did last year has any effect on this season or gives us a leg up on anybody.”
On defense, the Steelers will break in several new faces, including inside linebackers Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, veteran cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan and rookie corner Joey Porter Jr., plus safety Keanu Neal.
The Steelers no longer have the NFL’s most expensive defense, but after tying up outside linebacker Alex Highsmith to a five-year deal, they rank No. 3 in defensive spending. On offense, the Steelers rank No. 18 in cap dollars spent.
“They’ve always said defense wins championships,” Watt said, “so I hope that is right.”
The Steelers will begin to test that theory Thursday when they conduct their initial training camp practice. After a heat acclimation period, players will don pads Tuesday when the workouts intensify.
“When you have aspirations of being a world champion, this time of the year is very vital,” said Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowl pick whose lone career playoff win was in the 2015 season with Arizona. “We want to make sure we’re turning over every stone, that we are dialed in to every situation that is going to be handed to us so we’re prepared for when those situations happen in the regular season.”
That, All-Pro free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said, is the only way the Steelers are going to end their playoff streak. Nothing magical or mystical about it.
“We’re not going to try to remodel how to win games,” he said. “We’ll go out there and do what we know how to do.”