ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Editor's note: The above video is from Jan. 15.
Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a frustratingly familiar position.
Unable to overcome early mistakes and the absence of star pass rusher T.J. Watt in a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, the Steelers have gone seven years since last winning a playoff game.
The franchise played in its NFL-leading 63rd playoff game since 1970 and is accustomed to contending for Super Bowl championships. But the Steelers (10-8) finished one-and-done for a fourth consecutive postseason appearance.
Not even Mother Nature's role in pushing back the game's start a day after a lake-effect storm dropped more than 2 feet of snow on the Buffalo region could prevent another early exit.
“I appreciate the efforts of the guys in there,” Tomlin said. “But efforts don’t get it done.”
Mason Rudolph’s efforts helped the Steelers win their final three regular-season games and claim the seventh seed in the AFC playoffs. But the backup quarterback struggled in his first postseason appearance in an outing during which the wintry elements hardly played a factor.
Rudolph, who didn't turn the ball over in the regular season, was intercepted in the end zone by Kaiir Elam early in the second quarter. That led to his Bills counterpart Josh Allen scoring on a 52-yard run that put the Steelers in a 21-0 hole.
And Buffalo’s second touchdown of the first quarter came one play after Steelers receiver George Pickens fumbled in Pittsburgh territory.
“We spotted them early in the football game via the turnovers,” Tomlin said. “Can’t come into an environment like this with a playoff-caliber team and turn the ball over like that and expect to be competitive.”
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s defense without Watt could not come up with any takeaways in dropping to 1-11 when the three-time All-Pro and the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year is sidelined. The Steelers also uncharacteristicly missed several tackles, including on Allen’s scoring run, and a touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir in the fourth quarter.
“In that type of game, you’ve got to get turnovers, and you’ve got to hold onto the ball,” Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said.
Pittsburgh mounted a rally after Montravious Adams blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Buffalo’s Tyler Bass late in the second quarter. Rudolph capped a five-play, 33-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with 1:39 left in the half.
Pittsburgh would proceed to score on three straight possessions in cutting Buffalo’s lead to 24-17 on Calvin Austin’s 7-yard touchdown catch with 10:32 remaining.
But the comeback bid unraveled some four minutes later when Shakir shook off Pittsburgh cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick and eluded the rest of the Steelers’ secondary for a touchdown that eventually sealed the game.
“When we got it down to seven points, I thought we were going to make a run,” Heyward said. “It comes back to the defense. We got some penalties that kept the drive alive. And we didn’t get off the field, and a missed tackle led to a touchdown.”
In their past five playoff losses, beginning with the 2016 AFC championship game, the Steelers have been outscored 202-134 and allowed 31 or more points in each loss.
This season, the Steelers responded from a three-game losing skid to win three in a row and finish with a .500 or better record for the 17th consecutive season under Tomlin.
But having finished a season behind AFC North rivals in Baltimore and Cleveland, and conference rivals such as Buffalo, the Steelers enter an offseason of uncertainty.
Tomlin walked off the podium when asked about his status with one year remaining on his contract.
“Every player in there wouldn’t be anything without Mike T,” said Heyward, a defensive captain. “This group would not function to even get to a playoff berth without Mike T. ... I wouldn’t want to play for any other coach.”
Rudolph could not say whether he will be back with the Steelers after six seasons.
The 34-year-old Heyward said he needs to focus on getting healthy after battling groin injuries in his 13th season. He grew emotional when talking about restoring the Super Bowl standard the Steelers established when Heyward entered the NFL.
“That’s the thing that bugs me the most at night, not having an opportunity to have a Super Bowl,” Heyward said. “Seeing the culture and the tradition here. Every man should feel that way.
"It stings to be out of the playoffs, to not have a chance to continue to move on and I’m not ready to give that up.”