The 2018 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 86th as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It also marked the 19th season under leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 12th under head coach Mike Tomlin. After starting the season 7–2–1, the Steelers lost four of their last six games. The Steelers were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 17 with wins by the Ravens and Colts, clinching the AFC North title for the Ravens, and clinching the last wild card spot for the Colts, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Off-the-field events The team was mocked in the media due to conflict amongst team members and staff during both the off-season and the regular season, and for subsequently missing the playoffs after a 7–2–1 start. Star running back Le'Veon Bell refused to sign his franchise tag, holding out for a more permanent contract for what was first expected to be the first few weeks of the season, but later missing out on the entire season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger received criticism for openly calling out teammates during public interviews with the media, as well as for his initial reaction to the team drafting quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Most notably, wide receiver Antonio Brown was involved with a string of incidents, ranging from tossing furniture out of his apartment window in the off-season, arguing with offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, clashing with the media about his role on the offense, and getting cited for speeding in excess of over 100 mph along a suburban highway. These incidents culminated in Brown reportedly getting into a heated argument with Roethlisberger and benched for the final game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals as a result, then storming out of the team facility and ignoring all contact from teammates, coaches, and the front office. Brown's tipping point was suggested to be the Steelers' decision to name receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as team MVP leading up to Week 17 which also led up to Brown demanding a trade from the Steelers a few days after the season where he would be eventually traded to the Oakland Raiders at the start of the new NFL year. Brown also openly called out Smith-Schuster via Twitter and Instagram in April 2019 due to his game losing fumble in a Week 16 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which crippled the Steelers playoff chances.
Following the season, fans, commentators, and numerous current and former Steelers lamented the conflict inside the organization, with some blaming the team culture for the late season collapse (which included four close, mistake-filled and penalty-prone losses within the final six games) and head coach Mike Tomlin for his inability to control a drama-filled locker room. The drama during the Steelers' 2018 season was most notably chronicled in satirical fashion by Steve "Schlasser" Linkowski, a Pittsburgh-based YouTube personality, former video game reviewer, and prominent Steelers fan known for his colorful and rant-filled videos poking fun at sports franchises on his channel UrinatingTree. Linkowski dubbed his video series focusing on the off-the-field drama as "Days of our Steelers" as a parody of NBC's soap opera TV show Days of Our Lives. The team blocked UrinatingTree on Twitter by Week 6. The series has continued, albeit more sporadically, during the 2019 and 2020 seasons as a part of his NFL week in review series This Week in Sportsball, and multiple allusions to the series have been made from then on depending on the team's record and playoff situation.
Transactions The Steelers were involved in the following transactions during the 2018 season:
Trades Player Acquired from Traded to Date Trade terms WR Martavis Bryant Oakland Raiders April 26 2018 3rd round pick WR Ryan Switzer Oakland Raiders August 27 2019 5th round pick to Oakland, 2019 6th round pick to Pittsburgh
Free agent signings Player Acquired from Lost to Date Contract terms OT Chris Hubbard Cleveland Browns March 14 5 years / $37.5 million ILB Jon Bostic Indianapolis Colts March 17 2 years / $4.1 million SS Morgan Burnett Green Bay Packers March 20 3 years / $14.5 million SS Nat Berhe New York Giants April 6 1 year / $880,000
Signings Player Date Contract terms SS Jordan Dangerfield January 15 (Reserve/Future) ILB Matt Galambos January 15 (Reserve/Future) OLB Farrington Huguenin January 15 (Reserve/Future) TE Jake McGee January 15 (Reserve/Future) CB Dashaun Phillips January 15 (Reserve/Future) TE Xavier Grimble January 15 1-year extension (ERFA) LS Kameron Canaday January 15 1-year extension (ERFA) CB Mike Hilton January 16 1-year extension (ERFA) DE Lavon Hooks January 16 (Reserve/Future) ILB Keith Kelsey January 16 (Reserve/Future) WR Justin Thomas January 16 (Reserve/Future) WR Marcus Tucker January 16 (Reserve/Future) DE Casey Sayles January 18 (Reserve/Future) S Malik Golden January 19 (Reserve/Future) LB Darnell Leslie January 19 (Reserve/Future) P Matt Wile January 19 (Reserve/Future) WR Trey Griffey January 29 (Reserve/Future) WR Tevin Jones January 29 (Reserve/Future) RB James Summers January 29 (Reserve/Future) OL Matt Feiler January 31 1-year extension (ERFA) P Jordan Berry February 1 1-year extension (RFA) OL B. J. Finney February 9 1-year extension (ERFA) FB Roosevelt Nix February 10 4-year extension (RFA) RB Le'Veon Bell March 6 1-year extension (Franchise Tag) K Chris Boswell March 12 1-year extension (RFA) OLB Anthony Chickillo March 13 1-year extension (RFA) RB Fitzgerald Toussaint March 15 1-year extension (RFA) DT Daniel McCullers March 22 1-year extension (URFA) RB Stevan Ridley April 4 1-year extension (URFA) WR Justin Hunter April 5 1-year extension (URFA) OT Joseph Cheek April 9 (Reserve/Future) OT Larson Graham April 9 (Reserve/Future) C Parker Collins April 9 (Reserve/Future)
Cuts Position Player Date CB William Gay March 14 FS Mike Mitchell March 14 S Robert Golden March 14 CB Antonio Crawford April 12 S J. J. Wilcox April 30
Draft
2018 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 28 Terrell Edmunds S Virginia Tech 2 60 James Washington WR Oklahoma State 3 76 Mason Rudolph QB Oklahoma State From Seattle 92 Chukwuma Okorafor OT Western Michigan 5 148 Marcus Allen S Penn State From San Francisco 165 Jaylen Samuels RB NC State 7 246 Joshua Frazier DT Alabama
Draft trades The Steelers traded their fourth-round selection (128th overall) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's fifth-round selection (148th overall) and tight end Vance McDonald. The Steelers traded their sixth-round selection (202nd overall) to Cleveland in exchange for cornerback Justin Gilbert. Cleveland then traded this selection back to Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2019 seventh round selection and WR Sammie Coates. Pittsburgh then traded this selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for Tampa Bay's seventh-round selection in 2019 and free safety J. J. Wilcox. The Steelers traded cornerback Ross Cockrell to the New York Giants in exchange for the Giants' seventh-round selection (220th overall)
The Steelers traded wide receiver Martavis Bryant to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Oakland's third-round selection previously acquired from the Arizona Cardinals (79th overall). They later traded the 79th selection and their seventh-round selection (220th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks for Seattle's third-round pick (76th overall).
Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2018 NFL draft concluded on April 28 unless otherwise noted.
= Made Week 1 roster
2018 Pittsburgh Steelers Undrafted Free Agents Position Player College Notes LB Olasunkanmi Adeniyi Toledo DT Parker Cothren Penn State RB Jarvion Franklin Western Michigan Signed to practice squad DE Greg Gilmore LSU WR Quadree Henderson Pittsburgh CB Trey Johnson Villanova TE Pharoah McKever NC State C Patrick Morris TCU Signed to practice squad OL Ikenna Nwokeji Elon Released May 14 WR Damoun Patterson Youngstown State Signed May 14 OL R. J. Prince North Carolina Signed May 14, Signed to practice squad G Chris Schleuger UAB CB Jamar Summers UCONN LB Matthew Thomas Florida State DE Kendal Vickers Tennessee
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 31–14 1–0 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 2 at Green Bay Packers L 34–51 1–1 Lambeau Field Recap 3 Tennessee Titans W 16–6 2–1 Heinz Field Recap 4 Carolina Panthers W 39–24 3–1 Heinz Field Recap
Regular season
Schedule The Steelers' regular season schedule was announced on April 19.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Cleveland Browns T 21–21 0–0–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 2 September 16 Kansas City Chiefs L 37–42 0–1–1 Heinz Field Recap 3 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–27 1–1–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 September 30 Baltimore Ravens L 14–26 1–2–1 Heinz Field Recap 5 October 7 Atlanta Falcons W 41–17 2–2–1 Heinz Field Recap 6 October 14 at Cincinnati Bengals W 28–21 3–2–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 7Bye 8 October 28 Cleveland Browns W 33–18 4–2–1 Heinz Field Recap 9 November 4 at Baltimore Ravens W 23–16 5–2–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 10 Carolina Panthers W 52–21 6–2–1 Heinz Field Recap 11 November 18 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 20–16 7–2–1 TIAA Bank Field Recap 12 November 25 at Denver Broncos L 17–24 7–3–1 Broncos Stadium at Mile High Recap 13 December 2 Los Angeles Chargers L 30–33 7–4–1 Heinz Field Recap 14 December 9 at Oakland Raiders L 21–24 7–5–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 15 December 16 New England Patriots W 17–10 8–5–1 Heinz Field Recap 16 December 23 at New Orleans Saints L 28–31 8–6–1 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 17 December 30 Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 9–6–1 Heinz Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
The Steelers started their season on the road against the Browns. After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers struck first in the second when second-year RB James Conner ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 7–0 at halftime. After the break, the Browns went to work as Tyrod Taylor ran for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7–7. However, the Steelers retook the lead with 2 more touchdowns: Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown on a 22-yard pass followed up by Conner's second touchdown of the day from 22 yards out to make it 14–7 and then 21–7. In the fourth quarter however, it was all Browns when Carlos Hyde ran for a 1-yard touchdown followed by Taylor connecting with Josh Gordon on a 17-yard touchdown to make it 21–14 and then 21–21. In overtime, neither team would score, leading to a tie.
With the tie, the Steelers started their season 0–0–1. It was the first time ever that they played the Browns to a tie game. This would snap their 6-game winning streak over the Browns. Also, the team's winning streak against division rivals was snapped. They also had their first tie game since 2002 against the Atlanta Falcons. Roethlisberger tied his career high of 5 turnovers in a game (3 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles) as the team turned the ball over 6 times including a Conner fumble late in the fourth quarter. Overall, he finished the game with a very poor 60.5 passer rating.
On a positive note, the team's defense was able to get a turnover of their own (1 interception) and sack Taylor 7 times. The Steelers also held him to a passer rating of 51.8.
Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs