Tim Benz: While the NFL celebrates parity, Pittsburgh shouldn’t applaud Steelers’ mediocrity
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NFL parity is nearing historic levels.
As you could probably guess, the league is basking in it.
Here is a social media post from NFL senior vice president of football and international communications Michael Signora.
24 teams are still in contention for a trip to the Super Bowl, which ties for the most with two weeks remaining in 20 years, since a record 26 in 2004.
— Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) December 26, 2023
The NFL is living out the dream scenario it has always hoped to create through its free agency system, salary cap and draft infrastructure: A league where every team’s fan base has a reason to stay engaged until the final week.
Of course, the downside to creating a league where almost everyone is in the middle is that very few organizations are really on top.
Dynasties have always been great for the NFL. This year, I’d settle for just one team that I know is genuinely elite.
I suppose the Eagles, Ravens and 49ers are at least good enough to create the appearance of an NFL upper class for the playoffs. Maybe you can extend that to the Dolphins, Cowboys and Lions if you are feeling generous.
It’s not like the 2004 season Signora referenced, though. Not even close. That year featured the 15-1 Steelers. The defending champion New England Patriots were 14-2. The Eagles were 13-3. Both the Chargers and Colts (with MVP Peyton Manning) were 12-4. At least there were elite teams that year.
Sadly, no one has helped personify and glorify the NFL’s modern-day bulky middle as much as the Steelers. The national media drools over Mike Tomlin’s track record of never having a losing season. If the Steelers win Saturday in Seattle or next week in Baltimore, they’ll extend that streak to 17 consecutive seasons for Tomlin and 20 in a row for the franchise.
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However, when you have the league bragging about how it has structured itself to keep as many of the teams as close to the center as possible, it takes some of the starch out of that accomplishment, doesn’t it?
The Steelers are ostensibly the embodiment of the league’s attempts to make all the teams as interchangeable as possible.
That makes for great theater on game days and extended interest over an 18-week calendar. But it doesn’t leave much room for any one team to be special. And there is very little special about frequently being 9-8 as opposed to 8-9 under those circumstances.
Especially when you look at the standings and see 14 of 32 teams (43.7% of the league) are currently either 8-7 or 7-8. Last year, 16 of 32 clubs (50% of the league) finished between seven wins and nine wins.
So, let’s save the black-and-gold ticker-tape parade if the Steelers go 9-8 without a playoff win (or even a berth) again. It’s not as impressive as the network talking heads and national scribes would have you believe.
The streak is particularly diluted if you really drill down and see how the Steelers have kept it alive.
• Bill Cowher’s last squad in 2006 missed the playoffs as a defending Super Bowl champion at 8-8, losing to four teams that were 8-8 or worse. That group needed overtime in Week 17 to upset the Bengals and secure a .500 season.
• The 2009 club somehow went 9-7, sandwiched between two Super Bowl teams, missing the playoffs while falling four times to opponents with losing records.
• The 2012 edition went from 6-3 to 8-8, again with losses against four teams that finished below .500. Tomlin’s troops followed that up at 8-8 again in 2013, with six defeats at the hands of teams that were .500 or worse. In both years, Pittsburgh failed to secure a playoff spot.
• Then there was that series of late-season collapses. The 2018 Steelers went from 7-2-1 to 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs. The 2019 Steelers started 8-5 but finished 8-8 to miss the postseason. The 2020 team started 11-0, then lost five of six (including a playoff defeat at home to Cleveland) to close out.
This brings us to the past three years of painfully average eight- or nine-win football (so far).
Huzzah!
The streak looks a lot less impressive when you shine that kind of light on it, doesn’t it? It’s not exactly the Brady-Belichick Patriots’ run of 19 straight winning seasons. After all, 18 of those seasons were at least 10-win campaigns, nine resulted in Super Bowl trips and six ended with rings on everyone’s fingers.
Yet, the national media frequently makes out the Steelers’ run to sound roughly as good.
It isn’t. Not with those details baked into the final results. Not with this kind of NFL parity. Not with this year’s schedule. Or last year’s.
But, hey, if it happens, go ahead and celebrate another nine-win season if you want. I’m not stopping you. What are we gonna use that black-and-gold ticker-tape for otherwise? A Pirates World Series parade?
I still have a bag left over from 1979 that hasn’t been used.
Listen: Ian Furness of KJR Radio in Seattle joins Tim Benz to preview Steelers vs. Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday