Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and longtime Fox NFL Sunday star Terry Bradshaw isn’t mincing words about his former team after a shaky start has the black and gold sitting at a fortunate 2-1 record.
During an interview with USA Today Sports, Bradshaw characterized the last several years of Steelers football as “always competitive” but “not a contender.”
“They’re always competitive, but they’re past being a contender,” the four-time Super Bowl champion said. “They’re not a contender. They’re just not. From what I’ve seen, they’re not a contender. And they haven’t been in a while. They haven’t been a contender in five years.”
Frankly, Bradshaw could’ve extended that timeline a few more years, considering the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. The Fox NFL analyst suggested that the team hasn’t been hitting on all cylinders in quite some time.
“They don’t have the team. It takes offense, defense, takes it all. Takes coaching,” Bradshaw said. “They’re not ever going to fire Mike Tomlin,” he added.
Bradshaw’s characterization of the team is pretty accurate. During the later years with Ben Roethlisberger behind center, the team’s defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed. Recently, the offense has struggled to score points, while the defense has done just enough to keep the team in some games. Rarely are the Steelers playing the “complementary football” that Tomlin often touts as critical for success.
Voices have grown louder in recent years about the Steelers’ lack of postseason success and general inability to compete with the league’s top teams. And when the most successful quarterback in franchise history is calling out the team as “not a contender,” there are certainly people listening in Pittsburgh.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.