When a team is winning, everything is sunshine and lollipops, but things quickly become disjointed when it’s not. After a 10-3 start to the 2024-25 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers imploded, losing their final five games — all but one by double digits — and making their usual first-round exit in the Jan. 11 Wild Card game.
Something isn’t quite right in Pittsburgh. Members of the defense started to bicker publicly, and while they didn’t name names, there was plenty of finger-pointing.
Baltimore Ravens star cornerback Marlon Humphrey — whose former teammates, linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback DeShon Elliott, are part of that defense — endorsed the situation.
Marlon Humphrey Compares Steelers’ Tension to Jets’ Mess
Humphrey chose his words carefully, ensuring he didn’t lose the trust of whoever had forwarded him the information. Humphrey sensed something wasn’t right when the Steelers visited Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium on Wild Card Weekend and drew a parallel to the current unrest with the New York Jets.
“The team, to me, if you look just based off of what I very teeny bit know and based off what I feel like I’ve seen/how it is, I feel like there’s an underlying thing there somewhere internally that reminds me kind of the [New York Jets’] current situation,” Humphrey shared via his Punch Line podcast.
“Sometimes when I see quotes from Jets players, it seems like they’re trying to speak in code, and there’s something that they wanna say that they can’t just say. There’s a couple times I read Jets quotes from certain players, and it’s like, no one just wants to dog somebody, or you really can’t tell the media exactly what’s going on. But it seems like how they kind of played in that game against us, it’s like …”
Humphrey likely has an inside scoop he wasn’t willing to divulge further.
“And I know something I ain’t gonna say,” Humphrey said, fumbling his words.
More thoughts on what’s going on with the Steelers and specifically Mike Tomlin from a Ravens player’s podcast, of all places.
Marlon Humphrey hinting at some friction (gee I wonder who he talks to in Pittsburgh?) and his full show is here: https://t.co/LMdTPI09vP pic.twitter.com/W4fvBnhO0o
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) January 16, 2025
Steelers Need To Fix Their Issues ASAP
A franchise once considered the poster child for postseason success and organizational stability is starting to unravel. Whether it’s disgruntled players, coaching issues, or a combination of the two, the Steelers are no longer destined for glory because of it.
The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and lately, head coach Mike Tomlin’s successes have been few and far between. While he’s qualified for the playoffs a dozen times in his 18 seasons with the Steelers, Tomlin has now lost his first playoff game eight times.
READ MORE: Tomlin Puts an End to Recent Trade Rumors With Blunt 3-Word Response
While the 2025 season may seem lightyears away for fans, so much goes on that requires team unity between now and then.