The 2022 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 90th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 16th under head coach Mike Tomlin.
This was their first season since 2003 without long-time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the roster, as he announced his retirement on January 27, 2022. It was also the first season since 1999 without long-time general manager Kevin Colbert, as he announced on January 28, 2022 that after 22 years with the organization, he would step down following the 2022 NFL draft. He was succeeded by Omar Khan as general manager and Andy Weidl as assistant general manager on May 25, 2022.
The Steelers began their season with a 2–6 record, their worst start since 2013, and failed to improve on their 9–7–1 record from 2021. Despite the initial setback, the Steelers would have a mid-season turnaround and stay in the playoff hunt through Week 18 and finished with a 9–8 record. However, they narrowly missed the playoffs—the Steelers tied with the Miami Dolphins for the last Wild Card spot, but lost the tiebreaker based on the teams' Week 7 head-to-head meeting, won by the Dolphins. They maintained their streak of 19 consecutive non-losing seasons.
In an oddity, the 2022 Steelers played all 17 of their games in the Eastern time zone. The Steelers also traveled by far the fewest miles (6512 miles) of any team in the league in 2022.
Draft
2022 Pittsburgh Steelers draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 20 Kenny Pickett QB Pittsburgh 2 52 George Pickens WR Georgia 3 84 DeMarvin Leal DT Texas A&M 4 125 Traded to Miami 138 Calvin Austin III WR Memphis Compensatory selection 5 163 Traded to the New York Jets 6 198 Traded to Jacksonville 208 Connor Heyward FB/TE Michigan State from Kansas City 7 225 Mark Robinson LB Ole Miss from NY Jets 241 Chris Oladokun QB South Dakota State Draft trades
+ 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Jake Dixon OT Duquesne Mataeo Durant RB Duke Donovan Jeter DT Michigan Tyree Johnson OLB Texas A&M Trevon Mason DT Arizona T. D. Moultry OLB Auburn Chris Owens G Alabama Carlins Platel CB South Carolina Nick Sciba K Wake Forest Tyler Snead WR East Carolina Chris Steele CB USC Jordan Tucker OT North Carolina Jaylen Warren RB Oklahoma State Bryce Watts CB UMass
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Seattle Seahawks W 32–25 1–0 Acrisure Stadium Recap 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 16–15 2–0 TIAA Bank Field Recap 3 August 28 Detroit Lions W 19–9 3–0 Acrisure Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Cincinnati Bengals W 23–20 1–0 Paycor Stadium Recap 2 September 18 New England Patriots L 14–17 1–1 Acrisure Stadium Recap 3 at Cleveland Browns L 17–29 1–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 4 October 2 New York Jets L 20–24 1–3 Acrisure Stadium Recap 5 October 9 at Buffalo Bills L 3–38 1–4 Highmark Stadium Recap 6 October 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–18 2–4 Acrisure Stadium Recap 7 October 23 at Miami Dolphins L 10–16 2–5 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 8 October 30 at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–35 2–6 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 9 Bye 10 November 13 New Orleans Saints W 20–10 3–6 Acrisure Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Cincinnati Bengals L 30–37 3–7 Acrisure Stadium Recap 12 at Indianapolis Colts W 24–17 4–7 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 13 December 4 at Atlanta Falcons W 19–16 5–7 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 14 December 11 Baltimore Ravens L 14–16 5–8 Acrisure Stadium Recap 15 December 18 at Carolina Panthers W 24–16 6–8 Bank of America Stadium Recap 16 Las Vegas Raiders W 13–10 7–8 Acrisure Stadium Recap 17 January 1 at Baltimore Ravens W 16–13 8–8 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 18 January 8 Cleveland Browns W 28–14 9–8 Acrisure Stadium Recap Due to winning the last 4 games of the season, they were able to achieve 20 consecutive non-losing seasons.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers started the 2022 season against the division rival Bengals in Cincinnati. The Steelers scored first in the first quarter when Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown to make it 7–0. The Bengals made it 7–3 when Evan McPhearson made a 59-yard field goal. The Steelers then went ahead 10–3 after Chris Boswell kicked a 20-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Steelers moved ahead 17–3 after Mitchell Trubisky found Najee Harris on a 1-yard touchdown pass. The Bengals drew closer at halftime when McPhearson made a 26-yard field goal to make it 17–6. After the break, the Bengals came within 3 in the third quarter when Joe Burrow found Tyler Boyd on a 2-yard touchdown pass (with a successful 2-point conversion) to make it 17–14. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers moved ahead by 6 when Boswell kicked a 48-yard field goal to make it 20–14. Later on in the quarter, the Bengals tied the game when Burrow found Ja'Marr Chase on a 6-yard touchdown pass (with a blocked PAT) to send the game into overtime tied at 20–20. After going back and forth on possessions, the Steelers managed to win the game when Boswell kicked the game winning 53-yard field goal with seconds left to make the final score 23–20.
With their 3-game losing streak against the Bengals snapped, the Steelers started their season 1–0. Over the course of the game, the Steelers forced 5 turnovers.
Week 2: vs. New England Patriots
After a tough win in Week 1, the Steelers went home for their opener against the Patriots. The Patriots scored first as Nick Folk kicked a 28-yard field goal 3–0 for the only score of the period. The Steelers tied it up in the second quarter when Chris Boswell kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 3–3. The Patriots then took the lead when Mac Jones found Nelson Agholor on a 44-yard touchdown pass to make it 10–3 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Steelers came within 4 when Boswell kicked a 52-yard field goal to make it 10–6. Though, the Patriots would move ahead by double digits later on when Damien Harris ran for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 17–6. The Steelers were able to come within 3 after Mitchell Trubisky found Pat Freiermuth on an 8-yard touchdown pass (with a successful 2-point conversion) to make it 17–14. Though, they were unable to complete the comeback as the Patriots held on for the victory and ran out the clock.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 1–1.
Week 3: at Cleveland Browns
After a tough loss at home to the Patriots, the Steelers traveled to Cleveland for Round 1 against the Browns. In the first quarter, the Browns scored the only points when Jacoby Brissett found Amari Cooper on an 11-yard touchdown to make it 7–0. The Steelers tied the game up in the second quarter when Najee Harris ran for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 7–7. The Browns retook the lead when Brissett found David Njoku on a 7-yard pass (with a failed PAT) to make it 13–7. The Steelers then took the lead before halftime when Mitchell Trubisky ran for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 14–13. In the third quarter, the Browns retook the lead when Cade York kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 16–14 for the quarter's only score. They increased their lead in the fourth quarter when Nick Chubb ran for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 23–14. The Steelers came within 6 when Chris Boswell made a 34-yard field goal to make it 23–17. The final play of the game came with no time left when Denzel Ward recovered a fumble in the end zone to make the final score 29–17.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 1–2.
Week 4: vs. New York Jets
The Steelers headed home for a game against the Jets. The Jets scored first in the first quarter when Greg Zuerlein kicked a 38-yard field goal to make it 3–0 for the quarter's only score. They made it 10–0 in the second quarter when Zach Wilson connected with Braxton Berrios on a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Steelers were able to get on the board before halftime in spite of 2 field goals from Boswell: From 51 and 59 yards out to make it 10–6. In the third quarter, the Steelers scored the only points when rookie QB Kenny Pickett ran for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 13–10. In the fourth quarter, they increased their lead when Pickett ran for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 20–10. The Jets drew closer when Wilson found Corey Davis on a 5-yard touchdown pass, making the score 20–17. They later took the lead when Breece Hall ran for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 24–20. The Steelers were able to drive down the field in the final seconds. However, Pickett would throw the game-losing interception in the end zone and it sealed yet another loss for the team.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 1–3.
Week 5: at Buffalo Bills
After a tough loss at home, the Steelers then traveled to take on the Bills. The Bills scored first when Josh Allen found Gabe Davis on a 98-yard touchdown pass to make it 7–0. The Steelers got on the board for their only points of the game when Chris Boswell kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 7–3. For the rest of the game, it was all Bills as they outscored the Steelers 31–0 to make the final score 38–3.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 1–4. This would be the largest margin of loss in Mike Tomlin's coaching career. This would also be the team's first game without a touchdown since Week 1 of the 2019 season.
Week 6: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After a huge loss on the road, the Steelers returned home to face off against the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers. In the first quarter, the Steelers scored first when Najee Harris caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to make the lead 7–0. The Bucs made it 7–3 when Ryan Succop kicked a 30-yard field goal. Succop got the Bucs closer in the second quarter when he kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 7–6. Though, the Steelers pulled away when Chris Boswell kicked a 55-yard field goal to make it 10–6. As halftime approached, Succop got the Bucs within a point when he kicked a 54-yard field goal to make it 10–9. In the third quarter, the Steelers got back to work when Boswell kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it 13–9. Again, the Bucs came within a point when Succop kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 13–12. Despite losing Pickett for the game, in the fourth quarter, Mitchell Trubisky came out and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Claypool to make it 20–12. The Bucs would however score the remaining points of the game when Brady found Leonard Fournette on an 11-yard touchdown pass (with a failed 2-point conversion) to make the final score 20–18.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 2–4. It was the Steelers' first home win against the Buccaneers since 2006.
Week 7: at Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins opened a 13–0 lead in the first quarter. The Steelers were able to shorten the lead to 13–10, but not long before the Dolphins made it 16–10 at halftime. Both teams went scoreless in the second half, resulting in that final score. With the loss, the Steelers fell to 2–5, and 0–4 against the AFC East.
Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles