By Jeremy Hritz
It’s been a rough start to the Steelers season, especially following such a scintillating victory against the Buffalo Bills in the 2021 opener. As it currently stands, the Steelers are 1-2, facing an uphill battle in the uber-competitive AFC North, battling against the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens for an opportunity to make it into the postseason.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to see, dating back to 2000, how many Steelers teams started the year 1-2 and made the playoffs. Surprisingly, in this time frame, this only happened once in 2002 under Bill Cowher in the Tommy Maddox era when the team went 10-5-1, and lost to the Tennessee Titans in the postseason.
Under Mike Tomlin, in the two times he has began the year 1-2, neither of those teams made the playoffs. While a very small sample size, this statistic doesn’t exactly instill confidence in the Steelers moving forward in the 2021 season. Is there precedent for a 1-2 team to compete and win a Super Bowl? Look no further than the 1981 San Francisco 49ers who started 1-2, but finished 13-3 and won the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bottom line? The Steelers have to get moving, and get moving fast. History is already not on their side.
| Year | Record | Playoffs? |
| 2000 | 0-3 | No |
| 2001 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2002 | 1-2 | Yes |
| 2003 | 2-1 | No |
| 2004 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2005 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2006 | 1-2 | No |
| 2007 | 3-0 | Yes |
| 2008 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2009 | 1-2 | No |
| 2010 | 3-0 | Yes |
| 2011 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2012 | 1-2 | No |
| 2013 | 0-3 | No |
| 2014 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2015 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2016 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2017 | 2-1 | Yes |
| 2018 | 1-1-1 | No |
| 2019 | 0-3 | No |
| 2020 | 3-0 | Yes |