Last Undefeated NFL Teams

Note: The last undefeated team each year by the latest date of first loss, not based on the most consecutive wins to start each season. Situations where the team with the latest date of first loss differs from the team who started with the most wins are noted with an asterisk.
For NFL games, we consider all games that occurred within the same week to have happened at the same time.

Steelers the only team with double-digit wins before first loss not to make it past the WC round since 1990.

Thanks Tomlin...

 

A lot on this board knew that 11-0 was a bit of a mirage. I remember the young Steeler fans I knew getting so excited and talking undefeated season.

 

This is true that the 11-0 start was a mirage but this is still very paintful as memory because of what happened after,so I prefer to forget the more that I can!

 

Something happened that year on offense and I would love to hear from players about what was going on. During the win streak they averaged 29 pts/gm. That dropped by 7 pts/gm in the losing streak. A change like that means a significant shift in something.

And Roethlisberger famously said:

"The season is not over," Roethlisberger said Wednesday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "I want everyone out there to just take a deep breath. I know it's kind of crazy right now. I just want everyone to take a deep breath. We've got time. That's my mindset too."

"We have guaranteed ourselves a chance at the playoffs. We're in the postseason. We have three weeks now to get it going, to turn it around, to give ourselves the best chance to reach our ultimate goal, which is winning a Super Bowl," Roethlisberger said. "If we were starting the postseason tomorrow, maybe there would be a little bit more panic on our part.

 

Counting the playoff loss to the Browns the Steelers lost 5 of their last 6 games. The only game we won was against the Colts where we were trailing 24-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Ben went crazy in the fourth quarter throwing 3 TD's to lead us to a 28-24 win.

 

The Steelers had maybe their worst running game in history, especially from week 6 or 7 onward. Ben was older, so he was more afraid of getting hit like the current Rodgers, and he couldn't consistently complete passes from the yellow line at that point. Opponents adjusted to that as the season progressed and the steelers had no answer

 

I remember posting that they were the worst 11-0 team ever and I was greeted with this

 

The 2017 season was also a mirage. Sandbagged wins against backup QBs for Colts, Packers and Texans. That team was wiped out by Bortles Jags in post season. Thanks Popcorn.

 

In 2017, they were maybe the most talented steelers team in the Roethlisberger era, but they didn't play like that despite their 13-3 record, for the reasons you said.

 

On offense, yes... most talented of Roetlisberger era. On defense... hell no.

 

OK, that actually did make me LOL...

 

They should've been the #1 seed, but the refs screwed them in the Patriots game Jesse James TD.

 

Informative.

2011 Giants = 2005 Steelers

Lots of similarities in those teams.

 

they were a top 10 ranked defense in 2017.

 

Yeah I guess everyone forgot Ben being cut in half , and then being afraid of getting hit.
Wow . If a team does good during the regular season, and does bad during the playoffs it make You cleo.
I must be mystical , because I have predicted this for the Ravens, and the Bills for 6 straight years. LoL. Since a bunch of teams have had great regular seasons, and do terrible in the playoffs, this is no big stretch of power. Guess what....I predict right now that some team will do awesome in the regular season next year , and lose in the playoffs. All bow to me.

 

Only 15-1 team to be one and done!

To be fair,their defense was just brutal that year...Rodgers was superman in 2011,likely his peak

 

Well they sure as hell didn't play like it after Shazier was injured.

 

No, they did not.

 

Did you watch the team that year?

Basically everyone was saying that 11-0 record was smoke and mirrors. No one thought the Steelers "deserved" to have that record. I think it's hard to argue that's bad coaching.

And then the league (IIRC in the Dallas game) realized that Ben couldn't throw accurate intermediate or deep balls. And if they just played for short passes there was nothing we would do.

IIRC, that Dallas game was called by Tony Romo. And all game he kept saying: Dallas is in single-high and eventually Ben is going to burn them. And it felt like every time he tried he was way off the mark.

Everyone ages out of the NFL eventually.

Also...Pouncey sucked at snapping the ball for a couple seasons. And likely never had a snap as bad as he did to start off that WC game.

And Ben had 4 picks in that game too.

That game was a total team loss.

 

How bad could it have been? He was never listed on the injury report for an injury that season.
I maintained at the (and still do) that Tomlin was completely outcoached in the playoff game against Cleveland. It wasn't the players. I also believe that even though the Steelers beat the Ravens in 2020, they found something on defense against the Steelers and opponents copied it the rest of the year.

A closer look at the play by play during and after the win streak will show a surprising result. Will post when I get more time

 

There were points in that game that the Browns didn't even bother with the high safety part. Once teams figured it out, the Steelers often say all 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage during the "losing" streak that season.

Similar things happened with other old or not good QBs that the Steelers played since then as well. Once teams see the pattern that you are not able to beat them vertically, they just collapse everything.

 

One of the best movies of the 1980's. Great soundtrack too.

New Highlander reboot movie arrives in 2027. Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod. Hopefully a new rookie franchise QB arrives for Steelers too in 2027... after Steelers have a losing season in '26 and a top 10 pick.