2021 Pittsburgh Steelers season

89th season in franchise history

The 2021 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 89th season in the National Football League and their 15th under head coach Mike Tomlin.

2021 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerThe Rooney Family
Head coachMike Tomlin
General managerKevin Colbert
Home fieldHeinz Field
Results
Record9–7–1
Division place2nd AFC North
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (at Chiefs) 21–42
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
2
Team MVPT.J. Watt
Team ROYNajee Harris
Uniform
2021 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 24 Najee Harris RB Alabama
2 55 Pat Freiermuth TE Penn State
3 87 Kendrick Green C Illinois
4 128 Dan Moore Jr. OT Texas A&M
140 Buddy Johnson ILB Compensatory selection
5 156 Isaiahh Loudermilk DT Wisconsin from Dallas via Philadelphia and Miami
6 216 Quincy Roche OLB Miami from Tampa Bay
7 245 Tre Norwood CB Oklahoma from Miami
254 Pressley Harvin III P Georgia Tech from Baltimore

Regular season

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Schedule

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The Steelers' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.[1]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 12 at Buffalo Bills W 23–16 1–0 Highmark Stadium Recap
2 September 19 Las Vegas Raiders L 17−26 1–1 Heinz Field Recap
3 September 26 Cincinnati Bengals L 10–24 1–2 Heinz Field Recap
4 October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 17–27 1–3 Lambeau Field Recap
5 October 10 Denver Broncos W 27–19 2–3 Heinz Field Recap
6 October 17 Seattle Seahawks W 23–20 (OT) 3–3 Heinz Field Recap
7 Bye
8 October 31 at Cleveland Browns W 15–10 4–3 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
9 November 8 Chicago Bears W 29–27 5–3 Heinz Field Recap
10 November 14 Detroit Lions T 16–16 (OT) 5–3–1 Heinz Field Recap
11 November 21 at Los Angeles Chargers L 37–41 5–4–1 SoFi Stadium Recap
12 November 28 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–41 5–5–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
13 December 5 Baltimore Ravens W 20–19 6–5–1 Heinz Field Recap
14 December 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 28–36 6–6–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap
15 December 19 Tennessee Titans W 19–13 7–6–1 Heinz Field Recap
16 December 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–36 7–7–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
17 January 3 Cleveland Browns W 26–14 8–7–1 Heinz Field Recap
18 January 9 at Baltimore Ravens W 16–13 (OT) 9–7–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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Division

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AFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(4) Cincinnati Bengals 10 7 0 .588 4–2 8–4 460 376 L1
(7) Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 1 .559 4–2 7–5 343 398 W2
Cleveland Browns 8 9 0 .471 3–3 5–7 349 371 W1
Baltimore Ravens 8 9 0 .471 1–5 5–7 387 392 L6

Conference

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# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division winners
1[a] Tennessee Titans South 12 5 0 .706 5–1 8–4 .472 .480 W3
2[a] Kansas City Chiefs West 12 5 0 .706 5–1 7–5 .538 .517 W1
3 Buffalo Bills East 11 6 0 .647 5–1 7–5 .472 .428 W4
4 Cincinnati Bengals North 10 7 0 .588 4–2 8–4 .472 .462 L1
Wild cards
5[b] Las Vegas Raiders West 10 7 0 .588 3–3 8–4 .510 .515 W4
6[b] New England Patriots East 10 7 0 .588 3–3 8–4 .481 .394 L1
7 Pittsburgh Steelers North 9 7 1 .559 4–2 7–5 .521 .490 W2
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[c] Indianapolis Colts South 9 8 0 .529 3–3 7–5 .495 .431 L2
9[c][d] Miami Dolphins East 9 8 0 .529 4–2 6–6 .464 .379 W1
10[c][d] Los Angeles Chargers West 9 8 0 .529 3–3 6–6 .510 .500 L1
11[e] Cleveland Browns North 8 9 0 .471 3–3 5–7 .514 .415 W1
12[e] Baltimore Ravens North 8 9 0 .471 1–5 5–7 .531 .460 L6
13 Denver Broncos West 7 10 0 .412 1–5 3–9 .484 .357 L4
14[f] New York Jets East 4 13 0 .235 0–6 4–8 .512 .426 L2
15[f] Houston Texans South 4 13 0 .235 3–3 4–8 .498 .397 L2
16 Jacksonville Jaguars South 3 14 0 .176 1–5 3–9 .512 .569 W1
Tiebreakers[g]
  1. 1.0 1.1 Tennessee finished ahead of Kansas City based on head-to-head victory.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Las Vegas finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami and Los Angeles based on conference record.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Miami finished ahead of LA Chargers based on win percentage in common games.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Cleveland finished ahead of Baltimore based on division record.
  6. 6.0 6.1 NY Jets finished ahead of Houston based on head-to-head victory.
  7. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

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Schedule

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Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card January 16, 2022 at Kansas City Chiefs (2) L 21–42 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

References

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  1. "2021 NFL schedule released: Cowboys at Buccaneers kicks off season". NFL. May 12, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.