The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t build their brand overnight. It took grit, grind and Super Bowls – specifically in the 1970’s – for the Steelers to become one of the NFL’s premiere dynasties. You see, those young Yinzers moved all around the country, had families of their own who were born and bread Steelers fans, and so on. I know this because it’s my story, and a familiar one to so many others.
The Steelers are also popular for a far more simple reason: It’s because they win, and win a lot. Pittsburgh’s had only three head coaches in over 50 years. They’ve featured some of the best defensive players of all-time and have the quarterback talent to boot. Most importantly, Pittsburgh’s trophy case is full, with more than a fistful of Lombardi’s to their name.
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Steelers all-time playoff record and Super Bowl wins
Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers | Fred Roe/GettyImages
They don’t call Pittsburgh the City of Champyinz for nothing. Heck, we politely consider ourselves Sixburgh. This is because the Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history with six. The New England Patriots tied that mark thanks to some guy named Tom Brady, and likely would’ve surpassed Pittsburgh had they not let TB12 walk to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, where he won his seventh Super Bowl.
Team
Super Bowls
Pittsburgh Steelers
6
New England Patriots
6
Dallas Cowboys
5
San Francisco 49ers
5
Kansas City Chiefs
4
Green Bay Packers
4
New York Giants
4
Washington Commanders
3
Denver Broncos
3
Las Vegas Raiders
3
The vast majority of the Steelers Super Bowl wins came in the 1970’s, when they were coached by Chuck Noll (hired in 1969) and led by the Steel Curtain defense. That Steel Curtain defense is still considered one of the best in NFL history, and featured Hall-of-Fame players like Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene, Jack Ham and Mel Blount. On offense, Terry Bradshaw developed into a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, while Franco Harris, John Stallworth and Lynn Swann did most of the scoring.
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Those teams eventually gave way to Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, who coached the next two Pittsburgh Super Bowl winners.
Year
Winner
Loser
Super Bowl
1975
Steelers
Vikings
IX
1976
Steelers
Cowboys
X
1979
Steelers
Cowboys
XIII
1980
Steelers
Rams
XIV
2006
Steelers
Seahawks
XL
2009
Steelers
Cardinals
XLIII
Pittsburgh’s overall playoff record is 36-29. Most importantly for this team, however, is that the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, losing their last six postseason games by a combined score of 230-148. In those games, the once-vaunted Steelers defense has given up an average of just over 38 points per game.
Mike Tomlin’s record in the NFL Playoffs
Baltimore Ravens v Pittsburgh Steelers – NFL 2025 | Joe Sargent/GettyImages
Much of Mike Tomlin’s playoff legacy is tied to Ben Roethlisberger, especially the positive aspects. To begin his head coaching career, Tomlin was gifted a franchise quarterback, albeit one with serious off-field issues that nearly derailed his entire career (and rightly so).
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Tomlin has lost the last six playoff games he’s coached. Some of those were to better teams, like his 2017 AFC Championship defeat at the hands of the Patriots. Many, however, were to teams the Steelers were favored to beat, like against the Jaguars in 2018 and Browns in 2021.
Year
Opponent
Result
2016
@Patriots
L, 17-36
2017
vs Jaguars
L, 42-45
2020
vs Browns
L, 37-48
2021
@Chiefs
L, 21-42
2023
@Bills
L, 17-31
2024
@Ravens
L, 14-28
Overall, Tomlin is 8-11 in the postseason. That’s rough for a head coach who’s never had a losing season in his 19 years in charge. It’s even worse when you look at the results above, some of which occurred when Roethlisberger was still in his prime, and Pittsburgh had Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown by his side. Tomlin is a defensive wizard, but his defenses have fallen apart come the postseason, unable to adjust and leaving the offense with little chance to make up ground.
Aaron Rodgers record in the NFL Playoffs
Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers | Patrick McDermott/GettyImages
Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin desperately needed each other. While Rodgers Hall-of-Fame legacy is cemented, his career took a left turn when he was traded from the Packers to the New York Jets, a team starved for real quarterback talent. Rodgers barely played a down in his first season before tearing his Achilles, and struggled to ever gain much footing in the Meadowlands. Now in Pittsburgh, the 42-year-old Rodgers has at least shown flashes of what made him so great as a Packer. No matter how his Steelers career ends, he will go down as one of the best quarterbacks of his era.
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Tomlin’s a bit more complicated. While the Steelers coach has a Super Bowl to his name, the argument against him has always been that he won with Bill Cowher’s players. It’s an unfair shot, as the same can be said about any head coach who replaced a legend. Tomlin should get his flowers and a jacket in Canton when all is said and done, but he still has plenty left to accomplish. Some Steelers fans assumed his time with the franchise was coming to an end, and thus Tomlin took a flyer on Rodgers.
Rodgers postseason pedigree is much of the reason the Steelers signed him in the first place. Sure, the options weren’t great at the time, but there’s no denying that when the moment is big, Rodgers is ready.
Rodgers is 12-10 in the NFL Playoffs. Here’s a full breakdown of his statistics.
Season
Yards
Touchdowns
Interceptions
Result
2010
423
4
1
0-1
2011
1094
9
2
4-0
2012
264
2
1
0-1
2013
531
3
1
1-1
2014
177
1
0
0-1
2015
494
4
2
1-1
2016
471
4
1
1-1
2017
1004
9
2
2-1
2020
569
4
2
1-1
2021
642
5
1
1-1
2022
225
0
0
0-1
TOTAL
5894
45
13
12-10
Rodgers will face a new test on Monday night, as he’ll be taking on just his second AFC team in the postseason. The first, of course, were Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers, which he defeated 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV.
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This article was originally published on www.fansided.com as Steelers Playoff Record: All-time wins, losses and Aaron Rodgers’ postseason history.
