The historical significance of the Steelers 11-0 start

The Pittsburgh Steelers have started their 2020 NFL season with a record of 11-0. After a sloppy AFC North victory in a game which seemed like it would never be played, the Steelers have a quick turnaround to take on the Washington Football Team next Monday at 5 PM. So the enjoyment of 11-0 will be very short lived.

It is the first time in franchise history the Steelers have won their first eleven games of the season. The record which is continuing to grow replaces the 1978 Steelers who began their season 7-0 and went on to win Super Bowl XIII over the Dallas Cowboys.

Last week we highlighted the Steelers 9-0 start. Now it’s time to update the numbers now that they have pushed their record to 10-0.

In NFL history, there have been 17 teams who have previously started their season 11-0. Since the 1970 NFL merger, there have been 11 teams start 11-0 with all 11 of them making the playoffs. In NFL history, there has never been a team start 11-0 and miss the playoffs.

Since 1970, 9 of the 11 teams who started their season 11-0 made it to the Super Bowl which equates to 81.8% of teams. Out of those 9 teams, 5 of them went on to win the Super Bowl with only one time having two teams meet in the game who had won their first eleven games of the season. The only time two teams met in the Super Bowl who both started the season 11-0 was in 2009 when the 13-3 New Orleans Saints defeated the 14-2 Indianapolis Colts.

Should the Steelers push their record to 12-0 after their matchup with the Washington Football Team next Monday, league history is sill in the elite category. The 9 teams who have started the season winning their first twelve games since the 1970 merger have made the playoffs 100% of the time with 78% making the Super Bowl and 44% winning the championship game.

While starting 11-0 does increase the likelihood of going to the postseason and guarantees a winning season, there is still work to be done. The Steelers host the Washington Football Team who is tied record-wise for the lead in the NFC East and are desperate to keep pace. Time to get back to work.