2020 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
---|---|
Owner | The Rooney Family |
General manager | Kevin Colbert |
Head coach | Mike Tomlin |
Home field | Heinz Field |
Results | |
Record | 12–4 |
Division place | 1st AFC North |
Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Browns) 37–48 |
Pro Bowlers | |
AP All-Pros | 3
|
Team MVP | T. J. Watt |
Team ROY | Chase Claypool |
Uniform | |
The 2020 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 88th in the National Football League (NFL), their 20th playing home games at Heinz Field, their 21st under general manager Kevin Colbert, and their 14th under head coach Mike Tomlin. The team vastly improved on their 8–8 record from 2019 beginning the season 11–0, a franchise-best. They became the first NFL team to do so since the Carolina Panthers in the 2015 season. However, that streak was broken after a Week 13 loss to the Washington Football Team; the loss was the first of four in a five-game span to close the regular season. The Steelers clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2017 after the Miami Dolphins' Week 14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs[1][2] and clinched their first AFC North title since 2017 with a Week 16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The season marked the return of Ben Roethlisberger, who was sidelined for 14 games the season prior. However, despite entering Week 13 at 11–0, the Steelers collapsed and lost four of their last five games to finish 12–4 and join the 1969 Los Angeles Rams as the only teams in NFL history to go 11–0 and lose 3 consecutive games afterwards. In the playoffs, the collapse continued as Steelers faced the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round, allowing Cleveland to break a substantial playoff drought defeating the Steelers 48–37.
The Steelers swept the Ravens for the first time in three seasons. Their 11–0 start marked the longest the Steelers have gone before their first loss in a season in franchise history. They also went undefeated against the AFC South for the first time in six seasons.
Because the Patriots went 7–9, their first losing season in 20 years, the Steelers ended the year as the only team from 2004 to 2020 that didn't have a single losing season. As of the end of the 2023 NFL season, the streak is still ongoing.