The 2023 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 91st in the National Football League (NFL), their 2nd under general manager Omar Khan and their 17th under head coach Mike Tomlin. With their third win of the season against the Ravens in Week 5, the Steelers reached 700 wins in the club's history, joining the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants in reaching 700 franchise victories. With their Week 17 win over the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers became the first team in AFC history to post 20 consecutive non-losing records. With a Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers improved upon their 2022 record, and also qualified for the playoffs after a one-year absence the following day when the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans and the first without Ben Roethlisberger since 2002. The Steelers were defeated in the Wild Card Round by the Buffalo Bills 31–17. For the second time in his career, Kenny Pickett had the lowest number of passing touchdowns among QBs with at least 243 passes. He only threw 6 touchdowns on 324 throws.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drew an average home attendance of 66,977 in 9 home games in the 2023 NFL season.
Draft
+ 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 14 Broderick Jones OT Georgia From Patriots 17 Traded to the New England Patriots 2 32 Joey Porter Jr. CB Penn State From Bears 49 Keeanu Benton NT Wisconsin 3 80 Traded to the Carolina Panthers 93 Darnell Washington TE Georgia From 49ers via Panthers 4 120 Traded to the New England Patriots 132 Nick Herbig ILB Wisconsin From 49ers via Panthers 5 151 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks 6 195 Traded to the Denver Broncos 7 234 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams 241 Cory Trice CB Purdue From Vikings via Broncos 251 Spencer Anderson G Maryland From Rams
+ 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agents Position Player College WR Jordan Byrd San Diego State RB Alfonzo Graham Morgan State QB Tanner Morgan Minnesota DT James Nyamwaya Merrimack LB David Perales Fresno State FB Monte Pottebaum Iowa K B. T. Potter Clemson
Draft trades
Staff
Final roster
Preseason The Steelers' preseason opponents and schedule were announced in the spring. All preseason games were televised on KDKA. Their finale against the Falcons was also broadcast nationally on NFL Network. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–17 1–0 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 Buffalo Bills W 27–15 2–0 Acrisure Stadium Recap 3 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–0 3–0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 San Francisco 49ers L 7–30 0–1 Acrisure Stadium Recap 2 Cleveland Browns W 26–22 1–1 Acrisure Stadium Recap 3 September 24 at Las Vegas Raiders W 23–18 2–1 Allegiant Stadium Recap 4 October 1 at Houston Texans L 6–30 2–2 NRG Stadium Recap 5 October 8 Baltimore Ravens W 17–10 3–2 Acrisure Stadium Recap 6 Bye 7 October 22 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–17 4–2 SoFi Stadium Recap 8 October 29 Jacksonville Jaguars L 10–20 4–3 Acrisure Stadium Recap 9 Tennessee Titans W 20–16 5–3 Acrisure Stadium Recap 10 November 12 Green Bay Packers W 23–19 6–3 Acrisure Stadium Recap 11 November 19 at Cleveland Browns L 10–13 6–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 12 November 26 at Cincinnati Bengals W 16–10 7–4 Paycor Stadium Recap 13 December 3 Arizona Cardinals L 10–24 7–5 Acrisure Stadium Recap 14 New England Patriots L 18–21 7–6 Acrisure Stadium Recap 15 at Indianapolis Colts L 13–30 7–7 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 34–11 8–7 Acrisure Stadium Recap 17 December 31 at Seattle Seahawks W 30–23 9–7 Lumen Field Recap 18 at Baltimore Ravens W 17–10 10–7 M&T Bank Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Steelers opened their season at home for the first time since 2014. The team was blown out by the 49ers 30–7, and suffered their worst loss at home since 2006. With the loss, the Steelers started 0–1.
Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns
The Steelers opened their season with two home games for the first time since 1997.
Alex Highsmith opened the scoring 9 seconds in with a 30-yard pick-six. However, just over 6 minutes later, Dustin Hopkins kicked a 43-yard field goal to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 4 points.
In the second quarter, the Steelers trailed for the first time when Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson hit Jerome Ford with a 4-yard touchdown pass followed by a two-point conversion to make the score 11–7 in favor of the Browns. Chris Boswell kicked a 52-yard field goal to bring Pittsburgh within one point. Kenny Pickett then hit George Pickens with a 71-yard touchdown pass to put the Steelers back up, 16–11. The Browns made it a 2-point game when Dustin Hopkins kicked a 55-yard field goal just before halftime.
In the third quarter, Chris Boswell pushed the Steelers' lead back to five points by converting a 50-yard field goal. However, Pierre Strong Jr. ran for a 1-yard touchdown, with a 2-point conversion, to put the Browns up, 22–19, 1 minute and 46 seconds later.
In the fourth quarter, with 6:58 to go, T. J. Watt recorded a 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown, to reach the final score of 26–22 in favor of Pittsburgh.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 1–1. The Steelers' defense sacked Deshaun Watson 6 times for 25 yards.
Despite the win, the Steelers allowed 408 yards of offense and 20 first downs, while only picking up 255 yards of offense and 9 first downs.
Week 3: at Las Vegas Raiders
The Steelers upset the Raiders, winning in Las Vegas for the first time ever under the new Raiders city moniker. They also beat the Raiders on the road for the first time since 1995 when the Raiders were based in Oakland. With the win, the Steelers improved to 2–1, and moved into a three-way tie for first in the AFC North with the Ravens and Browns. It was Kenny Pickett's first game of the season without throwing an interception, and his first career game with multiple TD passes. Also, with the win, the Steelers have won at least one road game against all other 15 AFC teams since Mike Tomlin's hiring.
Week 4: at Houston Texans
The Steelers continued their road trip, traveling to take on the Texans in which would be their second loss of the season, being blown out 30–6. With the upset loss, the Steelers fell to 2–2. They lost to the Texans for just the third time ever. On a side note, T. J. Watt was able to witness his brother get inducted into the Houston Texans' Ring of Honor.
Week 5: vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Steelers went home for Round 1 against the Ravens. The Ravens went up 10–0 in the second quarter before the Steelers managed to score the remaining points to win 17–10. The win improved them to 3–2 as they headed into their bye week.
Week 7: at Los Angeles Rams
Coming off of their bye week, the Steelers then went on the road to take on the Rams. After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers scored first when Chris Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal to make it 3–0. Though, the Rams would take the lead before halftime when their kicker Brett Maher tied the game with a 41-yard field goal, followed by a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Tutu Atwell (with a failed PAT) to make it 9–3. In the third quarter, the Steelers retook the lead when Kenny Pickett ran for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 10–9. However, the Rams took the lead back when Darrell Henderson Jr. ran for a 1-yard touchdown (with a successful 2-point conversion) to make it 17–10. In the fourth quarter, it was all Steelers as they would win the game 24–17 with a pair of rushing touchdowns from Jaylen Warren from 13 yards out and Najee Harris from 3 yards out.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 4–2 and had defeated the Rams for the fifth time in a row, not having lost to them since the 2003 season when the Rams were based in St. Louis.
Week 8: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
After a tough road win, the Steelers returned home for a game against the Jaguars. Brandon McManus got the Jaguars on the board 6–0 with field goals from 50 and 51 yards out. In the second quarter, the Steelers made it 6–3 when Chris Boswell kicked a 22-yard field goal of his own. However, McManus kicked his third field goal of the game from 38 yards out to put his team up 9–3 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Jaguars moved up by double digits when Travis Etienne caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence (with a successful 2-point conversion) to make it 17–3. The Steelers responded later on in the quarter shortening the lead to 17–10 by way of Mitchell Trubisky's 22-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens. The Jaguars were able to seal the victory in the fourth quarter however with McManus kicking his fourth field goal of the day from 37 yards out to make the final score 20–10.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 4–3.
Week 9: vs. Tennessee Titans
After a tough loss at home, the Steelers stayed at home for a Thursday Night game against the Titans. The Steelers scored first in the first quarter when Najee Harris ran for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 7–0. The Titans got on the board later on when Nick Folk kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 7–3. In the second quarter, the Titans moved into the lead 10–7 by way of a 2-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry. Though, the Steelers tied it at 10–10 when Chris Boswell kicked a 29-yard field goal. The Titans moved back into the lead at halftime Folk kicked another 36-yard field goal to make it 13–10. After the break, the Steelers tied it up in the third quarter 13–13 when Boswell kicked a 30-yard field goal. Later on though, the Titans took the lead back when Nick Folk kicked a 48-yard field goal to make the score 16–13. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers scored the eventual game-winning touchdown to make the final score 20–16. They narrowly escaped with the victory when Kwon Alexander intercepted a pass by Will Levis in the end zone with six seconds left in the game.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 5–3.
Week 10: vs. Green Bay Packers
After yet another tough win, the Steelers stayed home for a game against the Packers. The Steelers scored first in the first quarter when Najee Harris ran for a 4-yard touchdown to take a 7–0 lead. The Packers were able to tie it up later on when Jordan Love found Romeo Doubs on an 8-yard pass to make it 7–7. The Steelers score twice in the second quarter to move up by 10: Jaylen Warren's 16-yard touchdown run, followed up by Chris Boswell's 42-yard field goal to make it 17–7. The Packers were able to come within 4 before halftime when Love connected with Jayden Reed for a 35-yard pass (with a failed PAT) to make it 17–13 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Packers went back to work taking a 2-point lead when Anders Carlson kicked 2 field goals from 31 and 28 yards out to make it 19–17. The Steelers retook the lead later on in the quarter when Boswell kicked a 49-yard field goal to make it 20–19. The Steelers wrapped up scoring of the game when Boswell kicked a 35-yard field goal to make it 23–19. The Packers got the ball back, but in a similar close ending to the Steelers' win over the Tennessee Titans the previous week, Damontae Kazee intercepted a potential game-winning touchdown pass by Love outside the Steelers end zone as time expired, sealing another narrow victory for the Steelers.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 6–3.
Week 11: at Cleveland Browns