The 2015 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 83rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 16th under general manager Kevin Colbert and their ninth under head coach Mike Tomlin. For the first time since 2002, safety Troy Polamalu was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on April 9.

The Steelers clinched the last AFC playoff spot, finishing tied with the New York Jets with a 10–6 record, but winning the tiebreaker over the Jets based on a better record vs. common opponents. The Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in the Divisional round.

2015 draft class

(+) Compensatory Selection

Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2015 NFL draft concluded on May 2 unless otherwise noted.

Position Player College Notes TE Cameron Clear Texas A&M NT Nigel Crawford-Kinney St. Augustine's DE Dominique Davis Liberty G Miles Dieffenbach Penn State C Reese Dismukes Auburn G B. J. Finney Kansas State WR Tyler Murphy Boston College DE Bradon Prate Illinois State WR Eli Rogers Louisville RB Ross Scheuerman Lafayette T Kevin Whimpey Utah State

Staff 2015 marked a transition period for the Steelers defense, as longtime defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau resigned January 10. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame due to his 14-year playing career with the Detroit Lions, LeBeau served 13 seasons as the Steelers defensive coordinator under Tomlin and his predecessor Bill Cowher over two stints (1995–1996 and 2004–2014), and whose zone blitz defense ranked within the Top 5 in the NFL in total defense in 11 of those 13 seasons. At the time of his resignation, LeBeau was the NFL's longest-active tenured defensive coordinator. LeBeau, 77, mentioned that it was a "resignation, not retirement."Dick LeBeau resigns as Defensive Coordinator Steelers.com (01/10/2015)

On January 13, longtime linebackers coach Keith Butler was promoted to succeed LeBeau.Steelers name Keith Butler as DC ESPN.com (01/13/2015) Butler stated that the team will continue to run the 3–4 defense as its primary package, but will also run some 4–3 packages, essentially converting the system to a hybrid 3–4.A few minutes with Keith Butler Steelers.com (01/13/2015) The Steelers have run the 3–4 since 1982, the longest such use of the 3–4 in NFL history.

Final roster

Schedule

Training camp The Steelers held training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It marked the 50th straight year that training camp was held at the college nestled in the Laurel Highlands, the third-longest active streak in the NFL behind the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, who have held their respective training camps at the same sites since 1958 and 1961, respectively.

The Steelers were scheduled to have joint practices with the Buffalo Bills this preseason but, due to their commitment to play in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, they canceled the joint practices but agreed to still play a later preseason game against the Bills on August 29. The Bills then scheduled joint practices with the Cleveland Browns at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY which then culminated with a preseason game against them on August 20 in Cleveland.

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF August 9 vs. Minnesota Vikings L 3–14 0–1 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 21–23 0–2 EverBank Field Recap 2 August 23 Green Bay Packers W 24–19 1–2 Heinz Field Recap 3 at Buffalo Bills L 19–43 1–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 Carolina Panthers L 6–23 1–4 Heinz Field Recap

Regular season Due to the modified scheduling changes that were made for the season, 2015 marked several firsts for the Steelers. It marked the first time the Steelers have hosted the Arizona Cardinals since 2003 (having played them at University of Phoenix Stadium twice in that span, as well as Super Bowl XLIII), the first time hosting the Denver Broncos since 2006 (having played them five times since then, all at Sports Authority Field at Mile High), the first time playing the San Diego Chargers on the road since 2006 (having played them four times since, all at home, and ultimately the Steelers last trip to San Diego before the Chargers returned to Los Angeles in 2017) and the first time visiting the Seattle Seahawks since 2003, having played them away from Seattle three times since, twice at home as well as Super Bowl XL.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at New England Patriots L 21–28 0–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 September 20 San Francisco 49ers W 43–18 1–1 Heinz Field Recap 3 September 27 at St. Louis Rams W 12–6 2–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 4 Baltimore Ravens L 20–23 2–2 Heinz Field Recap 5 at San Diego Chargers W 24–20 3–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 6 October 18 Arizona Cardinals W 25–13 4–2 Heinz Field Recap 7 October 25 at Kansas City Chiefs L 13–23 4–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 8 November 1 Cincinnati Bengals L 10–16 4–4 Heinz Field Recap 9 November 8 Oakland Raiders W 38–35 5–4 Heinz Field Recap 10 November 15 Cleveland Browns W 30–9 6–4 Heinz Field Recap 11Bye 12 November 29 at Seattle Seahawks L 30–39 6–5 CenturyLink Field Recap 13 December 6 Indianapolis Colts W 45–10 7–5 Heinz Field Recap 14 December 13 at Cincinnati Bengals W 33–20 8–5 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 15 December 20 Denver Broncos W 34–27 9–5 Heinz Field Recap 16 December 27 at Baltimore Ravens L 17–20 9–6 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 17 January 3 at Cleveland Browns W 28–12 10–6 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card at Cincinnati Bengals (3) W 18–16 1–0 Paul Brown Stadium Recap Divisional January 17 at Denver Broncos (1) L 16–23 1–1 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: at New England Patriots NFL Kickoff game

The Steelers opened their season on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots. After a scoreless first quarter, the Patriots scored first in the second quarter when Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski on 2 consecutive touchdown passes: from 16 and 6 yards out for leads of 7–0 and 14–0. The Steelers got on the board before halftime when Josh Scobee kicked a 44-yard field goal for a 14–3 game. In the third quarter, Brady found Scott Chandler on a 1-yard touchdown pass for a 21–3 lead. The Steelers responded with Will Johnson's 1-yard run for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion tacked on for a 21–11 game. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers scored again as Scobee kicked a 24-yard field goal. Brady and Gronkowski hooked up again on a 1-yard pass for a 28–14 lead. Getting the ball back with seconds left, Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown on an 11-yard touchdown pass for a final score of 28–21.

With the loss, the Steelers started their season 0–1. It also dropped the team to 2–1 in Kickoff Games.

Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers

After a tough loss, the Steelers went home to take on the 49ers. They struck first in the first quarter when Ben Roethlisberger found Heath Miller on a 2-yard TD pass (with a successful 2-point conversion) for an 8–0 lead. The Niners were able to get on the board in the second quarter when Phil Dawson kicked a 47-yard field goal shortening the lead to 8–3. The Steelers however pulled away later on as De'Angelo Williams ran for a 2-yard TD (with another successful 2-point conversion) for a 16–3 lead followed up by Roethlisberger finding Darrius Heyward-Bay on a 35-yard TD pass (with a failed PAT) for a 22–3 lead and finally Williams rushing for another 2-yard TD before halftime to take a 29–3 lead. After a scoreless third quarter, the Niners went to work in the fourth when Colin Kaepernick found Anquan Boldin on a 14-yard TD pass to move behind 29–10. The Steelers however pulled away when Williams ran for a 1-yard TD to move on up 36–10. The Niners drew closer when Kaepernick found Torrey Smith on a 75-yard TD pass (with a successful 2-point conversion) to make the score 36–18. The Steelers however wrapped up the scoring of the game when Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown on a 7-yard TD pass for the final score 43–18.

With the win, the Steelers improved to 1–1.

The defense had a field day on Kaepernick by sacking him 5 times and forcing a fumble which they recovered.

Week 3: at St. Louis Rams

Coming off their big home win over San Francisco, the Steelers traveled to St. Louis to take on the Rams in the Edward Jones Dome. After a long delay before the game due to the field catching fire from a pyrotechnical error during the Rams' entrance, the game got underway. Pittsburgh got on the board early with a Josh Scobee field goal, and held the Rams scoreless for the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Rams' kicker Greg Zuerlein gave them a field goal, tying the game. But, the returning Le'Veon Bell scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter; Pittsburgh failed to convert on a two-point play, but lead 9–3. The score remained this way for most of the game, and neither team scored in the third quarter. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his left knee mid-third quarter; he was carted off-field and Michael Vick replaced him for the remainder of the game. Zuerlein added to the Rams' score with another field goal, inching the Rams closer 9–6. But, Scobee kicked another field goal for the Steelers, increasing their lead 12–6. St. Louis failed to convert late in the game, and Vick kneeled down to end the game.

With their win and a Cleveland loss to Oakland, the Steelers improved to 2–1 and took sole possession of second in the AFC North.

Week 4: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Justin Tucker made a 52-yard field goal with 5:08 left in overtime to give the Baltimore Ravens a 23–20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.

Tucker tied it with 3 seconds to go in regulation after Pittsburgh's Josh Scobee missed a pair of kicks that would have given the Steelers some cushion. Tucker then won it in the extra period after the Steelers failed to convert a pair of fourth downs in Baltimore territory.

The Steelers defense had another stellar outing, sacking Joe Flacco five times and forcing two turnovers. Michael Vick threw for 124 yards and a score and avoided committing any turnovers while starting in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger. All helped lead the team to a 20–7 lead early in the third quarter. However, the Steelers offense stalled after, and Baltimore took advantage dropping the team to 2–2.

Antonio Brown's 5/50 receiving streak was broken after 35 consecutive games. He finished with 5 receptions, but missed the 50-yard mark by 8 yards.

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers