It’s not how you start but how you finish. Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers proved that adage true. But it sure doesn’t hurt to start fast, either. For several seasons, the Steelers have gotten off to sluggish starts.
In 2024, Pittsburgh had a hot beginning before fading at the finish line. Still, looking at a larger sample size, the Steelers haven’t been fast out of the gate. From 2021-2024, the Steelers are 7-9 across their first four games of a season, a .438 winning percentage. Hardly a winning number. Below is a list of team winning percentages over the same span, the first quarter of the past four combined seasons.
Team
Record/Win % First 4 Games (2021-2024)
BUF
12-4 (.750)
KC
12-4 (.750)
DAL
11-5 (.688)
PHI
11-5 (.688)
TB
11-5 (.688)
GB
10-6 (.625)
BAL
10-6 (.625)
SEA
10-6 (.625)
SF
10-6 (.625)
MIN
9-7 (.563)
LAC
9-7 (.563)
CLE
8-8 (.500)
ARI
8-8 (.500)
DEN
8-8 (.500)
MIA
8-8 (.500)
LAR
8-8 (.500)
WSH
8-8 (.500)
ATL
7-9 (.438)
CIN
7-9 (.438)
DET
7-9 (.438)
NO
7-9 (.438)
TEN
7-9 (.438)
**PIT**
**7-9 (.438)**
LVR
7-9 (.438)
IND
6-9-1 (.406)
HOU
6-9-1 (.406)
CHI
6-10 (.375)
NYG
6-10 (.375)
NYJ
6-10 (.375)
CAR
5-11 (.313)
JAC
4-12 (.250)
NE
4-12 (.250)
Pittsburgh is tied for 18th in the NFL with a slew of other 7-9 teams. There’s been years with fast starts, beginning 2024 3-1 and years where the team has been slow out of the gates. In 2021 and 2022, the Steelers started 1-3.
In overall record alone, it’s not a pretty stat. But it’s worth more closely. After all, teams that are just bad might not be slow starters just as teams that are good might not be fast ones. Bad teams could just be bad and good teams good. To better measure that, I charted each team’s winning percentage over the first four games compared to the rest of the season. The bigger and more positive the number, the “faster” a team started a season compared to the rest of the year.
Team
Win % Difference (Start Vs. Rest Of Year)
GB
+.290
SF
+.290
SEA
+.144
ARI
+.135
TB
+.130
CLE
+.096
CIN
+.087
DEN
+.077
DAL
+.073
NYG
+.058
WSH
+.048
NYJ
+.048
BUF
+.044
CAR
+.044
TEN
+.034
LVR
+.034
PHI
+.024
KC
+.019
ATL
+.015
HOU
\-.002
NO
\-.004
BAL
\-.010
IND
\-.056
MIA
\-.058
LAR
\-.058
LAC
\-.063
MIN
\-.072
JAC
\-.154
**PIT**
**\-.168**
NE
\-.173
DET
\-.187
CIN
\-.209
I just showed each team’s winning percentage but if you want the aggregate win and loss totals, [you can find them here.](https://stathead.com/football/team-game-finder.cgi?request=1&match=team_game_count_career&timeframe=seasons&year_min=2021&year_max=2024&team_game_num_season_min=5&week_num_season_max=18) Pittsburgh is 31-20-1 the rest of the way, a .606 winning percentage that’s ninth best in the NFL.
Pittsburgh’s negative-0.168 figure over the first four games compared to the rest of the year is 29th in the NFL. Meaning, the stat shows the Steelers are among the slowest starting teams to a season. Only the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals (notorious for their dreadful starts) are worse. The Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks are the fastest starters.
It’s a seasonal number that reflects the Steelers’ in-game nature, known for struggling to score in the first quarter but able to rally and close out at the end.
Around the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens have virtually no change between their starts and the rest of the season, the Cleveland Browns as fast starters, and the aforementioned Bengals waddle out of the gate.
It’s just one data point and the sample size isn’t huge as I wanted to keep the data set over the current 17-game format. Last year, Pittsburgh reversed those splits. A great start, a historically bad finish. Based on the layout of the 2025 schedule, the Steelers need another fast start and to avoid their 2024 collapse to make the playoffs and win their first postseason game in nearly a decade.