Unsurprisingly, following the team’s wild-card defeat, Steelers fans lose faith.
Just one week ago, 69% of Steelers supporters surveyed expressed confidence in the team’s path before to the team’s wild playoff game versus the Bills. In the same survey, 62% of supporters stated they anticipated winning over Buffalo, even though they were strong road underdogs and wouldn’t have their top edge rusher, T.J. Watt, available.
Naturally, some of those same fans no longer have that faith following that “unexpected” loss.
Perhaps many had a little too much hope for the wild card game. After all, the Steelers were merely 1-10 without Watt coming into this game. They faced a resurgent Buffalo Bills (+2.5) squad, who had defeated the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Dolphins in addition to staying unblemished since their Week 13 bye. Following a 5-5 start to the season, the victory against the Dolphins guaranteed them the AFC East championship for the fourth time in a row. To put it briefly, this was a formidable football club that had triumphed over many of the same difficult situations the Steelers faced, such as the loss of their offensive coordinator and many significant injuries on defense
What was the one advantage they had over the Steelers? a quarterback. a video gamer. Mason Rudolph finished the game with 229 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, finishing with a completion percentage of 56.4%, which was his lowest of the season. Rudolph performed about as well as one could have anticipated a third-string quarterback to in the playoffs. To prolong his NFL hopes, he kept them in it, though, and by doing so, he most likely played himself into another deal, either with the Steelers or somewhere else.
The doubts about whether or not anything will actually change in the upcoming years further exacerbate the lack of faith in the Steelers’ path beyond the game’s obvious outcome. With nothing to show for it, 17 seasons have passed without a losing record. It was again another season in which success was achieved by undermining weak opposition. It’s frustrating to win like that, even if it’s still winning. A sixth straight loss in the playoffs? That aggravates me.
45% of Steelers supporters expressed their displeasure upon learning that Mike Tomlin would play one more season.
Only 28% of supporters said they were “elated” that Tomlin would be coming back, while 27% of fans said they didn’t care. It’s not shocking to learn that some fans wanted Tomlin to go on—either through a trade or Art Rooney II benching him—as they had been requesting it on and off for the entire season. However, it’s safe to assume that almost everyone was aware that none of those scenarios was genuinely possible—that’s simply not the Steelers way.