The 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers season ended the same way their most recent ones have. They made the playoffs, but they got blown out in the first round. While things seemed different because the Steelers won their division, it was another mediocre year. Many fans blamed that on Mike Tomlin, but with him stepping down this offseason, there’s hope that things will be different. However, former Steelers offensive lineman Justin Hartwig sees more of the same for his former team.
“How can you predict something other than a mediocre record with the Steelers at this point?” Hartwig asked recently on The Transatlantic Sports Show’s YouTube channel. “I’m gonna go with 9-8…Winning season. That’s the standard…I don’t see enough evidence with the offseason changes to lead me to believe that we’re going to be a playoff-winning team.”
That might be the most disappointing outcome possible for Steelers fans. It would even be a step back compared to the last few years under Tomlin as the team finished with a record of 10-7 in each of the last three seasons. It’s unlikely that going 9-8 would win the AFC North, and it might not even be good enough to make the postseason.
The Steelers look like a better team on paper compared to last year. It isn’t just their coaching staff that’s changed. They’ve made several additions to their roster, including veterans such as Michael Pittman Jr. and Jamel Dean. They should bolster positions that were a Steelers weakness last year.
It’s unclear what exactly Hartwig doesn’t like about the Steelers’ roster, but he’s not the only one predicting that they’ll have another mediocre year. Several other analysts aren’t buying that the Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy reunion will bring the Steelers success.
That’s fair. It’s not 2010 anymore. While Rodgers was fine last year, he’s 42 years old. Even if his body holds up, there’s a chance that Father Time continues to sap his abilities. Also, while McCarthy has had a lot of regular-season success, he’s only won a single playoff game since the 2017 season. He isn’t an obvious solution to the Steelers’ postseason woes.
Maybe Hartwig will be wrong, and the Steelers will break through the ceiling that they’ve been bumping their head against. However, they haven’t done much to earn that confidence in recent years. A new coaching staff could inject life into the team, or it could present new challenges. McCarthy and company aren’t guaranteed instant success, though.
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