The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most successful franchises in NFL history, but for all their success, there is one thing they have never been able to accomplish: the Steelers have NEVER won a Thursday night road game against a divisional opponent.
The Steelers had a chance to end that streak in Week 7, but instead the Cincinnati Bengals pulled off a 33-31 upset at Paycor Stadium. The Steelers have now played a total of nine Division Thursday games on the road in franchise history, and they are 0-9 in those games, which includes going 0-7 under Mike Tomlin.
In Cincinnati, the Steelers had no answer for Joe Flacco, who passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Ja’Marr Chase also had a franchise-record 16 catches to help power the Bengals.
For the Steelers, it was another disappointment on Thursday.
Thursday’s losing streak began in 1980 with a loss to the Houston Oilers and has now lasted 45 years.
|
Oilers (AFC Central) |
Oilers 6-0 |
December 4, 1980 |
|
Jaguars (AFC Central) |
Jaguars 20-6 |
December 2, 1999 |
|
Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 13- |
December 10, 2009 |
|
Ravens (AFC North) |
Ravens 22-20 |
November 28, 2013 |
|
Ravens (AFC North) |
Ravens 26-6 |
September 11, 2014 |
|
Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 21-7 |
November 14, 2019 |
|
Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 29-17 |
September 22, 2022 |
|
Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 24-19 |
November 21, 2024 |
This streak has lasted so long that the Steelers have played two division games against opponents who aren’t even in their division anymore (Jaguars and Oilers/Titans).
It’s not just about divisional games, Thursday nights have usually been a nightmare for the Steelers. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Steelers are now 3-16 in Thursday road games, which is the worst winning percentage of any NFL team during that span.
Here’s a look at the three teams that have been the worst in Thursday road games since 1970 (via CBS Sports Research):
1. Steelers: 3-16 (.158)
2. Browns: 2-8 (.200)
3. Jets: 3-11 (.214)
The fact that the Browns and Jets are on this list isn’t a surprise to anyone, but seeing the Steelers grouped in there is definitely shocking. Overall, the Steelers are 12-19 on Thursdays in franchise history.
If you just look at games played since Tomlin was hired, the numbers don’t improve. The Steelers coach is 2-10 on the road in Thursday’s games, including 0-7 against division opponents. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Steelers are 1-6 on Thursday nights.
With the Steelers facing Flacco, maybe we should have known that Pittsburgh just wasn’t going to win. The Bengals’ victory gave Flacco 12 career victories against the Steelers, tied with Tom Brady for the most against Pittsburgh in NFL history.
Flacco and Rodgers gave us a historic duel Thursday evening: the match scored only the second pair of two quarterbacks over 40 years old. The only other time this happened was in 2020, when Brady and Drew Brees clashed three times while playing for the Buccaneers and Saints.
Rodgers threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions in the loss.
