2024 Steelers Season Recall: End of season collapse is completed

Steel City Underground presents our 2024 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their regular season with a 19–17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and if this was supposed to be a playoff tune-up, it sounded more like a broken record. The energy was low, the adjustments were nonexistent, and the coaching staff looked outmatched from the opening drive.

Sadly, that’s how the Steelers final two games would play out. Sites such as betway mw had the Steelers as 2.5-point underdogs at home against the Bengals. This game would fetch a far worse -9.5 point spread in the postseason matchup against the Baltimore Ravens – and there are many reasons why.

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Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin left rookie Cory Trice exposed in man coverage, and the Bengals took full advantage. On the offensive side, Arthur Smith’s run-heavy playbook stalled early and often. The Steelers leaned into their identity but failed to adapt when the ground game got bottled up.

Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined for just 74 rushing yards, and Russell Wilson’s 17 completions on 31 attempts didn’t do much to move the needle.

There were flashes of competence—Beanie Bishop’s interception, Connor Heyward’s heads-up recovery on special teams, and Pat Freiermuth’s touchdown—but they were drowned out by poor clock management and baffling decisions. Wilson took sacks in critical moments, stayed in bounds when he shouldn’t have, and let precious seconds bleed away in the fourth quarter. George Pickens, targeted six times, came away with just one catch.

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Pittsburgh’s run-first philosophy has been a staple all season, but when it fails, there’s no Plan B. The Bengals stacked the box and dared Wilson to beat them through the air. He couldn’t. The Steelers looked predictable, slow to adjust, and uninspired—hardly the traits of a team ready for postseason football.

That much was evident with the early Wild Card exit, as the Baltimore Ravens ran their rival Steelers out of the playoffs. Any hope of flipping the switch in the postseason was crushed.

The Ravens steamrolled Pittsburgh 28–14 in the AFC Wild Card round, exposing every flaw that had lingered for weeks. Derrick Henry racked up 186 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson added 175 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, and two scores of his own.

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The Steelers didn’t score until the third quarter, with Wilson connecting on deep shots to Van Jefferson and George Pickens. But the damage was already done. Baltimore controlled the clock, dominated the trenches, and left Pittsburgh chasing shadows. The Steelers defense, ranked sixth against the run during the regular season, had no answer for Henry’s power or Jackson’s versatility.

Mike Tomlin summed it up bluntly: “They were the better team. That was obvious. The X-factor was Lamar’s talents. Every time we got them behind the sticks, he made up for it”.

The Steelers closed out the year on a five-game losing streak, and the final two performances—against Cincinnati and Baltimore—felt like a team out of sync, out of gas, and out of ideas. Coaching, execution, and identity all needed a hard reset. And that’s where we are as the Recall series wraps on the 2024 season and looks ahead to 2025. We look forward to you joining us daily for Pittsburgh Steelers coverage. (Hopefully next year’s Recall series ends on a higher note!)