The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently enjoying a three-game winning streak after taking down the Detroit Lions in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season. The franchise is set up to win the AFC North for the first time since the 2020 season and all the group needs to do is win in Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns, or have the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. The Steelers are getting hot at the right time, and the team is primed to punch its playoff ticket for the third consecutive season.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks to throw deep during Pittsburgh's 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL regular season.
Pittsburgh has put together three consecutive wins over the last three weeks, and all of those victories have been impressive. The group got an important win over the Ravens in Week 14, convincingly beat the Miami Dolphins in Week 15, and then secured an unlikely win over the Lions in Week 16. There are different stories behind each of those wins, but there has also been one thing that is consistent throughout this winning streak: Pittsburgh has been dominating the middle-eight of these games.
The middle eight refers to the four minutes before halftime and the first four minutes of the third quarter. In all three of these wins, the Steelers have gotten a score at the end of the first half and at the start of the second half. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke about the importance of scoring in those instances following the Week 15 win over the Dolphins.
"For us to keep the ball the last four, whatever it was on the clock, and give no time was good," Rodgers said. "Then we came out and we got a first down and we scored. So that was good to double up like that."
The exact sequence Rodgers was speaking about was when the Steelers were able to score on the team's final drive of the first half against Miami. Pittsburgh went on a 12-play drive at the end of the first half to score a touchdown and left little-to-no time on the clock for Miami. The Steelers then came out of halftime and scored a touchdown to start the third quarter.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing a pass in the Week 15 win against the Miami Dolphins.
Pittsburgh's score at the start of the third quarter put the team up 14-3, and the group ran away with things from there. A similar sequence happened in the win over Baltimore and in the win over Detroit. Against the Ravens, the Steelers scored on their final drive of the first half to take a 17-3 lead. The Ravens had enough time to go down and score before halftime, but Pittsburgh countered that score with a field goal to begin the third quarter to move the lead back to two scores.
In Detroit, Pittsburgh scored on an incredible touchdown catch from Kenneth Gainwell with just two seconds remaining on the clock. Pittsburgh then got the ball to start the third quarter and the offense drove the ball down the field and ate up nearly five minutes of clock, but a fumble near the end zone gave the ball to the Lions. Despite that, Pittsburgh still put points on the board as Kyle Dugger sacked Jared Goff in the end zone for a safety. The Steelers then got the ball back on the free kick and went on a 10-minute drive and kicked a field goal.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin celebrates a road win in the locker room after taking down the Detroit Lions during the 2025 season.
Steelers Have Found A Winning Formula
In addition to dominating the middle of games, Pittsburgh has also won the time of possession battle in two of their last three contests. The defense has been playing better because it is on the field less, and the offense has been more efficient when it comes to moving the ball down the field. Pittsburgh has developed a winning formula late in the 2025 season, and hopefully it is something the team can carry into the postseason.
What do you think about Pittsburgh's recent winning streak? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
