Tim Benz: No room for Steelers to overcome a typical sluggish start in 2024

This is the annual column about the Pittsburgh Steelers that everyone wishes didn’t have to be so annual.

The column I feel like I write every year about how the Steelers need to get off to a better start than they have in recent seasons.

At least last year, the club was 3-2 heading into an early bye week with two wins over divisional opponents — home victories over the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 (26-22) and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 (17-10).

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 19, 2023

WOW! Everything coming up @steelers!

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— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2023

But the offense was mostly lousy. The defense was doing the heavy lifting, and the two losses were by a combined score of 60-13 against the San Francisco 49ers in the opener and the Houston Texans in Week 4.

By Steelers standards, though, with the notable exception of the 11-0 start in 2020, those first five weeks of 2023 were pretty good compared to how Mike Tomlin’s teams usually get out of the gates.

As we have chronicled in the past:

• The 2022 Steelers won the opener in Cincinnati 23-20, then lost four in a row and found themselves at 2-6 at the bye before missing the playoffs at 9-8.

• The 2021 group began 1-3 and needed a miracle win in Week 18 by the 3-14 Jags over Indianapolis so the Steelers could qualify for the playoffs.

• The 2019 team got off to a 1-4 start before winning seven of eight to remain competitive without Ben Roethlisberger, only to lose the last three and miss the playoffs.

• In 2018, Pittsburgh began 1-2-1, got up to 7-2-1, then missed the playoffs at 9-6-1.

• Tomlin’s 2013 club was 0-4, then 2-6 at the midway point. It rallied to finish 8-8 before being eliminated from wild-card contention on the last day of the regular season.

• The 2012 edition was 2-3. It finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

This year, the schedule is too difficult late in the season to rely on another holiday season rally, the stars aligning with opposing quarterback injuries, and help from other AFC foes who stub their toes in big games down the stretch.

Those ingredients — along with a little Mason Rudolph magic a year ago — have usually helped the Steelers stay relevant late in the calendar the past few seasons despite some hideous missteps early in the schedule.

I suppose all those things are possible again, but consider a few facts about what the Steelers face down the stretch this year.

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They don’t play a divisional game until Week 11. From Nov. 21-Dec. 21, they play four of five games on the road. Their last eight games are all against teams that had winning records a season ago — six against AFC North competition, one against the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6 last year), and one against the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Not to mention, the Steelers have to play a Thursday game in Cleveland (Nov. 21) and a Wednesday game on Christmas against the Chiefs.

That’s atrocious. So, the Steelers need to stack wins early to give themselves a buffer. Granted, three of their first four games are on the road. So that’s not easy.

However, eight of Pittsburgh’s first nine opponents failed to make the playoffs in 2023. Seven of those teams either have a new head coach and/or a different quarterback than the one who played the bulk of snaps under center a year ago.

In the case of the season-opening opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, both things are true, as Raheem Morris is taking over on the sidelines, and Kirk Cousins will command the pocket. On one hand, there is reason to believe that’ll lead to a lack of continuity. On the other hand, that leads to uncertainty in terms of how to scout the opponent.

“My anxiety is so high every year in the first game. I feel like we always play someone new that has something new going on,” defensive lineman Cam Heyward said with a laugh. “But you just have to rely on your technique. You can overthink a lot of things. It can get you into trouble.”

Of course, the Steelers are going through some upheaval on their own. They have a new QB in Russell Wilson, and a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. So any familiarity issues will have to be conquered quickly if the Steelers are to take advantage of the chance they have to get out to a successful September.

“That’s part of the building process,” Smith said on Thursday. “Year-to-year, it is a transitional league. It’s our job to problem-solve. A big part of it is the chemistry, getting to know people, getting to know how they think as you are installing and what fits you.”

Another part of it is a willingness to be fluid once the game starts if opponents early in the season aren’t showing exactly what you expect based on past tape.

“We can expect something, but we’re not going in stuck in concrete, like, ‘This is what they are going to do,’” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “There are going to be a lot of unknowns. We are trying to figure out our defense and how we are going to meld together. They are going to be figuring out their offense and how they meld together. It is going to be a feeling out process on both sides.”

In 2024, the Steelers better figure all of that out on both sides of the ball quickly because they likely won’t have the latitude to scramble back in the second half of the year as they so often have.