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PITTSBURGH -- Monday night was a stark contrast to what had transpired in Pittsburgh eight days earlier, when Aaron Rodgers rallied the Steelers to a thrilling win over the Ravens that clinched the AFC North division title and the playoff spot that came with it. 

While that win was the culmination of a largely successful regular season for Pittsburgh, the 30-6 blowout loss to the Texans in the AFC wild card exposed what the Steelers have been the better part of a decade: a team that is good enough to post winning records but not good enough to win games when it matters most.

Monday night sealed the Steelers' ninth consecutive season without a playoff win. If that wasn't bad enough, Pittsburgh has the dubious distinction of being just the fourth team in NFL history to lose seven straight playoff games. Obviously, these are not records that the Steelers want to be associated with.

As the Steelers enter the offseason, let's evaluate what could and should happen next if Pittsburgh wants to finally take the next step in 2026.

Mike Tomlin's future 

There's no denying that Tomlin is a very good coach and has been for a long time. Even Tomlin's biggest critics must ackowldge his peerless ability to consistently churn out competitive teams.

Every single team that Tomlin has trotted out has gone at least .500. He has won eight division titles and guided the Steelers to the playoffs in 13 of his 19 seasons. He's won a Super Bowl, coached in another and ended the 2025 season tied with Chuck Noll for ninth on the all-time regular season wins list.

While you must acknowledge Tomlin's success, you also can't ignore his and the Steelers' shortcomings under his watch. The Steelers are 8-12 under Tomlin in the playoffs which includes a 3-11 record in their past 14 playoff games. During their current seven-game losing streak in the playoffs, Tomlin's teams have been defeated in double-digit fashion six times. The Steelers don't just lose in the playoffs -- they have often failed to show up.

Given Tomlin's body of work, it's hard to fathom Steelers president Art Rooney II firing him with two years left of on his contract. If Tomlin isn't back in 2026, it would likely be because he wants to do something else. Tomlin, however, has given no indication that he wants to do anything else anytime soon.

Two years ago, Rooney extended Tomlin's contract with the expectation that Tomlin would get the Steelers back to winning playoff games. So far, that hasn't happened, and if that continues to be the case, don't expect Tomlin to continue to be the Steelers' coach when his current contract expires. 

In the meantime, expect Tomlin to make changes to his coaching staff this offseason. That will likely include defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, whose contract is set to expire.

Upgrade the receiving corps 

It's hard to give a true evaluation of Aaron Rodgers' performance this season given the lack of weaponry he had at receiver. The Steelers traded for DK Metcalf, but they never found anyone to replace George Pickens, who was an All-Pro during his first season with the Cowboys. 

Pittsburgh's inability to find Pickens' replacement this season is nothing short of mind-boggling. The Steelers had the entire offseason and up until the trade deadline to do something, and they never did. That, more than anything, contributed to another season that ended without a playoff win.

Reports surfaced that Steelers general manager Omar Khan wasn't willing to relinquish the assets required to get a receiver to complement Metcalf. That decision proved to be costly, as Khan and 67,297 paid customers watched on Monday as Rodgers continued to pay the price for Pittsburgh's lack of receivers.

Much was said about the Texans' pass rush, led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. And while both players were disruptive on Monday night, a lot of their success was the byproduct of Pittsburgh's lack of open receivers.

To be fair to Khan, he's tasked with not only fielding competitive teams this season, but in the years ahead. He clearly didn't want to give way too many assets for a potential rental, especially when Rodgers was largely making due with what he had. 

Khan will have up to 12 draft picks at his disposal this offseason, and it would be a safe bet that he plans to allocate some of those picks into upgrading his receiving corps.

Find an offensive identity 

One of the Steelers' issues this season was their over-reliance on Rodgers to carry the offense. Rodgers said late in the year that he relishes that responsibility, but a 42-year-old player shouldn't be asked to shoulder such a burden.

Pittsburgh wanted to give Rodgers a powerful running game to lean on, but that didn't happen despite productive seasons from Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, who was voted team MVP by his teammates. The Steelers finished just 26th in rushing during the season and were out-rushed by more than 100 yards by the Texans on Monday night.

The Steelers gambled when they allowed Najee Harris to test the market and replacing him with rookie Kaleb Johnson, who was a healthy scratch against Houston. While Johnson may end being a good player, the Steeles need to make upgrades at running back this offseason. It isn't their most pressing need, but it is a need nonetheless.

It's worth asking if the Steelers' running game could have been better this year if offensive coordinator Arthur Smith put more emphasis on it. The Steelers rarely ran between the tackles and failed to take advantage of Warren's physicality.

Speaking of underutilized players, don't be surprised if Pat Freiermuth's's face ends up on a milk carton this offseason. He caught just 42 passes this season despite being one of the NFL's most reliable tight ends since being drafted in 2021.

Make a plan at QB 

Instability would be the best way to describe the Steelers' quarterback situation since Ben Roethlisberger's's retirement at the end of the 2021 season. That needs to change if Pittsburgh is going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender anytime soon.

Rodgers was noncommittal about his plans following Monday night's loss, but my guess is that he has played his last down for the Steelers. Either way, the Steelers need to commit themselves to finding a longtime answer at the most important position in sports.

As stated earlier, the Steelers could have up to a dozen picks in the upcoming draft. They could use some of those picks to trade up to try to acquire one of this year's top-ranked quarterback prospects, a group that includes three potential first-round picks in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, Oregon's Dante Moore and Alabama's Ty Simpson.

If the Steelers chose to wait another year to spend a high pick on a quarterback, it wouldn't be a bad idea to see what they have in Will Howard, a 2025 sixth-round pick who led Ohio State to a national title a year ago. The Steelers could hold an open competition this offseason with Howard, veteran Mason Rudolph and another veteran.

Best case, Howard blossoms into a quality player who can help the Steelers continue to climb up the AFC's pecking order. If he doesn't, the Steelers would likely be in a better position to draft their potential longterm answer at quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft.

One thing the Steelers shouldn't do is sign another aging quarterback. That will only serve as a temporary band-aid. 

Invest in your youth 

While most Steelers fans will quickly try to erase Monday night's game out of their memory bank, they shouldn't forget the big plays made by some of their young players, albeit in a losing effort.

Rookie Jack Sawyer, for example, forced a fumble of C.J. Stroud that was recovered by fellow rookie Yahya Black. It was the second forced turnover in three games for Sawyer, a third-round pick who made the most of his limited snaps while playing behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.

"I think it speaks volumes to our coaching staff and our veteran players who have been so great to us this first year," Sawyer said following Monday's game when asked about his development this season. "I've learned so much from T.J. and Alex and [Herbig], and I know [Derrick Harmon] and Yahya can same the same thing about the guys in their room.

"Obviously, this sucks. Feel like this group was special. We've got a lot of growth left to do, and it's time to attack it this offseason."

Harmon, the Steelers' first-round pick this past year, also had a sack of Stroud while helping a Pittsburgh defense that jarred the ball out of Stroud's hands five times. Harmon made a significant impact this season when he was healthy, especially against the run. 

The Steelers also appear to have something good going in terms of the offensive line. While it clearly has room to grow, Pittsburgh received solid play this season from second-year starters Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu, who was basically a rookie this year after an injury sidelined him for virtually all of his first season. 

"I don't think there's a better center in the league," Rodgers said of Frazier on Monday night. "I watched it every single week. ... The right side [of the offensive line], that's got to excite Steelers fans when you've got three young guys at center, right guard, right tackle who have played so well all season. That's pretty exciting."

While they are often labeled as an old team, the Steelers do have some young potential cornerstones in place. The Steelers can aid in their collective growth by putting better players around them this offseason.

Trade a big-name player? 

It's been floated in the past that the Steelers should trade the 31-year-old Watt, who signed a massive extension last offseason. Given what just transpired, the Steelers should consider any option this offseason if it can lead to better results. That should include the possible trade of several high-priced veterans.

In a salary-cap sport, you can't keep everyone, which means that the Steelers will at some point be faced with difficult decisions when it comes to some of other big-name players that also includes Metcalf, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen and Jalen Ramsey. The Steelers showed their willingness to trade a "legacy" player when they dealt Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami. Don't be surprised if they make a similar move this offseason if they think it can help deliver a playoff win for the first time in a decade.