Pittsburgh major sports playoff skid continues
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
It's been a terrible last several years for Pittsburgh teams in the postseason. Photo: Joe Sargent/Getty Images
We'll have as many playoff losses as bridges soon at this pace.
The big picture: Pittsburgh's three major sports teams — the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins — have not advanced in the postseason their last 16 combined attempts.
Zoom in: The Pens were defeated by the Flyers 4-2 in the Battle of Pennsylvania this year, and also lost five other playoff series in the last eight years.
- The Pirates last advanced in the postseason in 2013 defeating the Reds in the famous "Cueto" game. They then lost to the Cardinals 3-2 in the divisional round that year, and then lost two more wild-card games the next two seasons.
- The Steelers have lost their last seven playoff games, culminating in former longtime coach Mike Tomlin stepping down.
Stunning stat: The last time a major Pittsburgh pro sports team advanced in the playoffs was 2018, when the Pens beat the Flyers 4-2 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Yes, but: The city's second-tier professional soccer club, the Riverhounds, won the USL Championship cup last season.
The bottom line: We're still the City of Champions, even if it hasn't felt that way for a while.
