Gerry Dulac: Slow starts aren't exclusive to this season -- they've doomed Steelers in playoffs for years

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 8, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — It is one thing to get off to slow starts in the regular season, which the Steelers have turned into an art form.

It is another when it happens in the postseason, which the Steelers have turned into a nightmare.

Slow starts have plagued the Steelers all season, especially on offense, where they haven't scored a touchdown on their opening possession in the past 19 games, going back to Week 17 last season when Mason Rudolph threw an 86-yard touchdown to George Pickens just four minutes into a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If it happens again Saturday night in Baltimore, it will be a continuation of what has been an alarming pattern for the Steelers in the postseason: They have been outscored 56-0 in the first quarter of the past four playoff games.

"I don't know that I'd use the term 'alarm,' but certainly we're analyzing all components of it in an effort to remedy it," coach Mike Tomlin said.

They better hurry.

All the Steelers have managed on 17 opening possessions this season is six Chris Boswell field goals, the last of which came eight games ago in the Week 11 victory against the Ravens.

Since then, they have had a missed 58-yard field goal, an interception returned for touchdown and six punts to start the game. It's a big reason why they have been outscored in the first quarter 40-3 during their four-game losing streak.

"Some of it has had to do with some of the people that we played. Some have done a nice job," Tomlin said. "Some of it has to do with us. Rest assured that we're working extremely hard to rectify it."

Every NFL team scripts between 12 to 15 predetermined plays they want to use to begin a game and get the offense off to a fast start. It is intended to build confidence for the offense and attack an opponent's weaknesses.

"That's what we intend to do every week," said quarterback Russell Wilson, who will be making his 17th career playoff start, which includes two Super Bowls. "We just got to go execute and find ways to make plays and get the first down and get the second first down and keep rolling."

The defense, though, hasn't been a whole lot better when it comes to getting off to fast starts.

The Steelers have allowed four touchdowns and four field goals on the opponents' opening possessions, the most recent coming Saturday night in the 19-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

When the Steelers have opted to defer after winning the coin toss — a move designed for the defense to set an early tone — they have allowed two touchdowns and forced a fumble on seven opening possessions.

"We always want to go on the field first," outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. "It's all about setting a tone early in the game and trying to get a stop and give the ball in good field position to our guys."

The Steelers offense has been better once they have had a chance to make adjustments at halftime. They have scored three touchdowns and six field goals on their first possession of the second half.

Defensively, after not allowing any points to start the second half in the first eight games, the Steelers have allowed one touchdown and five field goals in the past nine games.

"Coach has a lot of faith in the defense and he wants us to go out there and set the tone for the game," Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. "I think he also wants to get us out there to instill a sense of urgency."

Slow starts have been the biggest reason the Steelers have gone seven years without a playoff victory. And it's because they've been buried in an avalanche of points right off the bat.

They fell behind 21-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, 28-0 to the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and 14-0 to the Buffalo Bills last season, all in the first quarter. They had a scoreless first quarter in Kansas City in 2021 but trailed at the half 21-7 en route to a 42-21 defeat.

"It's important that we own our ills and build a course of action on which to correct it and then go about the physical labor of doing so," Tomlin said. "And so that's what I'm talking about when I'm talking about carrying the baggage of the last four weeks.

"There's some lessons underneath it all for coaches and for players and for the collective. For us to be successful this week, the fruit of those lessons need to be evident in the quality of our play. And, of course, schematics is a major component of that."