Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans clamored for the team to part ways with Mike Tomlin in recent years. The Steelers have felt stuck in recent years. While they’ve remained in the playoff picture, they haven’t won a postseason game in almost a decade. That led to Tomlin stepping down this offseason, but Pete Prisco sees more of the same coming for the Steelers.

“I think they’re the third team in the division,” Prisco said Tuesday on the 2 Pros and A Cup of Joe podcast. “They’ll win nine games, eight, but not make the playoffs. That’s what the Steelers do.”

Prisco isn’t too far off base. The Steelers have finished each of the last three seasons at 10-7, and they had two nine-win seasons before that. Tomlin never had a losing season in Pittsburgh, but just making the playoffs hasn’t been good enough, either.

However, Prisco still might be selling the Steelers a little short. Yes, they’ve hovered around the same record in recent years, but they also won the AFC North last year. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals have franchise quarterbacks, but that’s not always enough to win in the NFL. They have holes at other positions that held them back last year.

Also, while Prisco hasn’t been as pessimistic about Aaron Rodgers as other analysts, his faith in the four-time NF: MVP — and the team around him this year — is starting to dwindle.

“He’s been a great, great, great player. He just wasn’t a great, great, great player last year. Wasn’t very good last year,” Prisco said. “And I do like Aaron Rodgers, but I think that that team has some issues as well. Could they get 10 [wins] and get into the playoffs?

“Maybe, because they do still have talent on defense. But they didn’t run the ball [well in 2025]. They have some offensive line issues. They’ve had issues over the years. T.J. Watt wasn’t as good last year. There’s a lot of things at play.”

The Steelers indeed have some major question marks, including the age of some of their top players. Father Time could catch up to them, and that could leave Pittsburgh in a tough spot this year.

However, the Steelers shouldn’t be counted out yet. Much like how they’ve basically been the same team in recent years, the discussion around them hasn’t really changed. The past few years have seen many analysts give negative predictions about the Steelers, and yet, the bottom hasn’t fallen out in Pittsburgh yet.

Perhaps a new coaching staff will spark the Steelers. Mike McCarthy has had success in two other stints as an NFL head coach, and he’s assembled a solid staff. Could the Steelers finish with yet another 10-7 season? Maybe, but that doesn’t matter if they finally win a playoff game. That’s the ceiling that they’re trying to break through. They’ve proven doubters wrong in the past, and they could do it again.