Just like that, it’s all over.

On a cold Pittsburgh night, one filled with hope, the visiting Houston Texans crushed a city made of steel and walked out with a 30-6 win over the Steelers.

The goal coming into this year was clear: win a playoff game.

Save the argument for whether that should be the “standard,” or how far said standard has fallen in recent years. I’m right there with you. But that was the mission of this season. That’s why you brought in Aaron Rodgers.

Yet, we sit here again, another season ending in despair, looking up to see a lopsided score on the board as the final seconds ticked down. It’s an ending that feels all too familiar for the Steelers and their fans, who had the rare front row seat at Acrisure Stadium for this one.

This was the last time we could see several familiar faces.

Mike Tomlin has been here 19 years, and talk is louder than ever that a chance might actually take place. Rodgers came here on a one-year deal, and now the 42-year-old quarterback has a tough decision to make regarding his career. Cam Heyward is 36, in a position that is super tough on the body.

This was a game to play like as if it’s your last. Instead was a pitiful effort, if even that.

There’s a lot of big picture stuff to look at moving forward. But none of that will erase the sting of Monday night.

So, for the final time this season, here’s my five thoughts.

1: It Was All Right There

The final score will make this game look like a blowout, but it only became one in the fourth quarter. This game was 7-6 with less than 15 minutes to go.

This game was there for the taking. The Steelers just couldn’t do it.

CJ Stroud did his best to keep the Steelers in this game for as long as he possibly could. The third-year quarterback lost two fumbles in the first half and suffered multiple other botched snaps. He also threw a pick on the first drive of the third quarter. He played timid and looked rattled for a large portion of this game.

But you only get so many opportunities before they finally stop coming. In the fourth, Houston finally got their act together on offense, and unlike the Steelers, were able to score twice on the turnovers they forced in the final frame.

For years, Pittsburgh teams have thrived on getting takeaways and winning the turnover margin. But those are only worth something if you can actually capitalize with them.

They didn’t.

2: The “Offensive” Line

A lot of things went wrong for the Steelers in this game.

But one area where they were consistently dominated was in the trenches. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has no chance against the Texans. Frankly, the way they played was offensive.

Look, I understand that facing Houston’s front, which features the likes of Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr., and several others is the last thing any offensive line wants to do. But this is the playoffs. You just need a better performance than what they got.

Rodgers was sacked four times, pressured 12 times, and had several of his passes broken up at the line.

Their struggles also impacted the running game. The Steelers finished this game with just 63 rushing yards, a good chunk of those coming in garbage time. They averaged 3.1 yards per carry, exactly half of Houston’s efforts in the running game.

They just needed better.

3: Coordination

I think it’s time we finally end the Arthur Smith experience in town.

Smith has now coordinated the offense for two years, and it just doesn’t feel like we’ve gotten the results we needed from him.

Last year, they finished 16th in the NFL last season with 22.4 points per game in the regular season. This year, they finished 15th with 23.4 points per game.

It’s just eh.

It’s certainly fair to argue that Smith’s approach hurts due to a lack of weapons. For both of his seasons here, his team has lacked a true WR2, a decision he did not make. However, that does not excuse some of the tendencies he has shown as a coordinator here.

He uses certain guys too much, and he doesn’t use other guys enough. It’s a season-long issue for his unit. They force the ball to Jonnu Smith, and they don’t target Darnell Washington enough. That’s just one example.

Maybe it’s not all his fault. In fact, I’d agree with you. But when you fail to score a single touchdown with your season on the line, something’s gotta give.

This leads into my next thought as well.

4: The One Constant

The Pittsburgh Steelers have now lost seven straight playoff games. They have not won a postseason contest since Barack Obama was still in office.

They have, embarrassingly, trailed by at least 21 points in all seven of those losses. But the longer this streak goes on, the more we start to notice different approaches the Steelers have to these games, and the different routes they take to getting annihilated in the first round of the playoffs.

The one constant in all of this is the head coach.

Think about what Tomlin has done in each of the last five years. I know that’s not the start of the streak, but it’s when this string of losing when it matters most really starts to ramp up.

Tomlin was the final season of Ben Roethlisberger in 2021. It was a combination of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph in 2023. It was a mix of Justin Fields and late-stage Russell Wilson last year. It was 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers this year.

His last three playoff starters were Rudolph, Wilson, and Rodgers. Think about the wildly different skillsets, styles, and personalities of those quarterbacks.

And yet, Tomlin has had the exact same result with all of them.

That is the very definition of “high floor, low ceiling.” And I just don’t know how much longer you can live this way. Tomlin’s accomplishments throughout his career will carry him to a gold jacket. There’s no problem in saying it. But there’s also no problem in admitting when something has finally run its course.

We already know how the fans feel about it. Now, it’s time to learn whether anyone with a level of influence in the organization feels the same way.

5: Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers largely approached his 21st season in the NFL as if it was his last in the NFL. While at times he danced around the idea of potentially coming back for one more year, he has generally leaned towards this being it.

I feel like it is.

Now let me be clear, I have no sources or inside information on this topic. But, in my personal opinion, I think how things ended here solidified the finale of his career.

Had the Steelers made this a legitimate game, or perhaps even won and went on a run, I think Rodgers could have been convinced to come back for one more year, get some additional weapons, and see if he can finally return that ring he stole from Pittsburgh all those years ago.

Instead, he and his team were pummeled into the ground. I think the chances of him coming back were legitimately beaten out of him.

I guess at the very least, he won’t come back next year as a Steeler. But at age 42, with how this all went down, I just don’t think he comes back at all.

The image of Rodgers throwing a pick to Calen Bullock, trying to run all the way back, and failing to push Bullock out of bounds as he ran into the endzone was a sad representation of how this game went for the Steelers.

That was the last throw Rodgers made. Backup Mason Rudolph came in after the score was 30-6.

I think we’ve watched the last game of Aaron’s career. And to him, I’m sorry that it ended this way. It shouldn’t have.

Bonus: A Thank You

It’s always super sad writing the last edition of these.

You get so caught up in the highs and lows of a season, sometimes you forget to pause and take a look around. And the only time you remember to do that…is when it’s all over.

That’s the experience I’m having as I sit here past midnight. Even putting aside the difficult ending, it’s hard to think that is really is all going away for a long time. A season that lasts upwards of 20 weeks always seems to feel like it lasts for 20 days.

Through it all, though, I just want to thank you. Whether you’ve read every one of these, a few here and there, or this is the first article you’ve ever clicked on Fifth Avenue Sports. Knowing there is anyone out there who is willing to take time out of their day to read something I wrote is something I will never, ever take for granted.