The black and yellow never disappoint.
This is what I thought growing up, and it’s what many Pittsburgh sports fans still think. But it’s not the case anymore.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in their 19th season under head coach Mike Tomlin and haven’t had a losing season in 22 years. Despite this success with Tomlin, the Steelers have only won a singular Super Bowl in 2008 and have yet to make any lasting impact past the regular season.
The Steelers’ problem isn’t with the talent on their team — it’s with their consistency, and the only thing they’re consistent in is letting down their fans.
Since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022, the Steelers have rotated through a carousel of six different quarterbacks — Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Mitchel Trubisky, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and most recently, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
After 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in 2023 in exchange for the Jets’ first, second and sixth-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft and their 2024 second-round pick, according to ESPN. In his fourth offensive snap on the team, Rodgers ruptured his achilles tendon and underwent surgery. The Jets released Rodgers after the 2024 season, where he completed 368 of 584 passing attempts for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns.
After a multi-month courtship, Rodgers signed with the Steelers for a one-year, $13.65 million contract June 6. In his opening game against his former team, Rodgers completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 244 yards and four touchdowns. The Steelers defeated the Jets in a 34-32 win.
In the 31-17 loss against the Seattle Seahawks Sept. 14, Rodgers completed only 18 of 33 attempts for 203 yards, one touchdown and had two interceptions. He played better in wins against the New England Patriots Sept. 21, Minnesota Vikings Sept. 28 and Cleveland Browns Oct. 12, completing a combined 55 of 75 attempts for 574 yards, five touchdowns to only one interception.
Rodgers is a good quarterback. He’s got a strong arm, and he knows the game, but what happens when he follows through with his plan of retiring after the 2025 season? The Steelers can’t rely on Rudolph to stick around for another eight years when he isn’t getting the playing time he needs.
Rookie Will Howard is an option in the future years, but has been on injury reserve for a broken pinky finger since the summer and doesn’t seem to be seeing the field anytime soon, according to SteelersNow.
The Steelers need to find a quarterback who will stick around, and they need to find him quickly.
Not only are the Steelers struggling with their quarterback, but their defense has been lackluster this season, especially in their Oct. 16 game against the Bengals. Cincinnati’s newly acquired quarterback, 40-year-old Joe Flacco, completed 31 of 47 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns.
The Steelers’ 396 total yards paled in comparison to the Bengals’ 470, with Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase contributing 161 yards and franchise record 16 receptions. Pittsburgh’s defense let receivers and running backs slip through their line the entire game.
The Steelers have the highest paid defensive players in the league, spending nearly $158 million in contracts, according to the NFL. All that money spent, and the players aren’t nearly as good as they should be.
When I was talking to my brother about the Steelers’ season so far, he perfectly summed up how a lot of fans are feeling.
“Highest paid defense in the league for fucking what,” he said.
If the Steelers want to bring back the iconic championship team of the early 2000s, they’ve got to improve their defense and finally find their franchise quarterback. Currently 4-2 and first in the AFC North, the Steelers are a team to watch after week seven. But they’re going to choke — they always do, and the fans know this.
Last season, after winning 10 games, the Steelers lost 28-14 to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of playoff games. The year before, after 10 wins, the Steelers lost 31-17 to the Buffalo Bills in the first round.
It’s been eight years since the Steelers won a playoff game, and fans — like myself — are getting restless. The Steelers used to be a team that was top of the league. Now, after getting the fans’ hopes up all season, thinking, “Maybe this is the year we’re great,” the Steelers will lose.
The black and yellow?
They’re going to disappoint.
Claire Bovino is a second-year student studying Political Science and Multimedia Journalism and is originally from Pittsburgh. This is her second year writing for The Phoenix. When she’s not writing or watching sports, Claire can be found reading long fantasy novels by the lake, eating hot dogs or complaining about the state of Pittsburgh sports teams.