BALTIMORE — Make it eight years in a row the Philadelphia Steelers were unable to win a playoff game. Make it five losses in a row to end this once-promising campaign.

This time, it was their rival Baltimore Ravens, who beat them for the second time in four weeks, a 28-14 snoozer that was the franchise’s sixth consecutive postseason loss. And it was Groundhog Day again — a pathetic start, a competitive push in the second half, but ultimately too little, too late for a team that looked unprepared and unfocused from the get-go.

The same issues from their four-game losing streak and the same issues from their previous four playoff losses were on display for the world to see as they fell into a 21-0 hole at halftime. They couldn’t stop Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson early, couldn’t put together drives with first-downs on offense and couldn't get one side of the ball to pick up the other. The Ravens rolled up 463 yards of offense, 300 of which came on the ground, 186 of which were Henry rumbling through every level of an overmatched defense (that rushing total dipped with the final kneel-downs).

So much for that intimate familiarity with the Ravens and knowing how to play them, as coach Mike Tomlin put it Monday. The Ravens were a step ahead — or several steps ahead — of the Steelers with their game plan on offense. Jackson and Henry did whatever they wanted for most of the night while Russell Wilson struggled to see the field early, missing open receivers for a couple of potential first-downs that might’ve sparked the offense sooner.

Where do they go from here? They change quarterbacks, they change offensive coordinators, they change offensive linemen and they change linebackers, but the same things happen year after year in the postseason when the Steelers make it there. If they’re happy with merely qualifying for the tournament, then sure, consider it a successful season. If they want to elevate past these embarrassing first-round defeats, it’s getting harder to ignore the need for a more drastic change, and the one constant throughout this drought is Tomlin.

It was over when: Wilson’s heave to Calvin Austin III deep down the middle in traffic on fourth-and-15 from near midfield was broken up with 6:06 left, which could be Wilson’s final pass as a Steeler after one up-and-down season in Pittsburgh.

Player of the game: George Pickens. Hard to say what's more impressive, the five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown or that he didn’t get a penalty, blow up on the sideline or try to fight a Ravens defensive back. It’s fitting that the Steelers’ best player on offense, by far, is also their most problematic. But Pickens now goes into a contract year on a high note for himself.

Trending up: Corliss Waitman. If the Steelers start next season the way they ended this one, they’re going to need an elite punter. Waitman averaged 52.5 yards on four punts, all of which landed inside the 20, and banged a 60-yarder to flip the field. Good job by him.

Trending down: Too many to choose. Wilson played well for portions of the second half but was holding the ball too long and unable to escape pressure again in the first. Like the playoff loss last year in Buffalo, Minkah Fitzpatrick wasn’t always going all-out to pursue ball-carriers. Donte Jackson got burned by Rashod Bateman in man coverage on the first touchdown. Cam Sutton couldn't cover Isaiah Likely all game and got stiff-armed back to Detroit at the end of the first half. Pat Freiermuth had another drop and Patrick Queen came up small in his second return to Baltimore.

Up next: The 2025 offseason, with no quarterback under contract and a number of other major decisions to make in an effort to end their playoff futility.

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