The scenes at Acrisure Stadium this past weekend were pure chaos. The box score says the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 26-7 to the Buffalo Bills. But the atmosphere felt like it was the funeral of the team’s 2025 season. Fans were booing, chants to fire Mike Tomlin broke out, and the frustration was impossible to miss. Steelers Nation has clearly hit its breaking point with both Tomlin’s leadership and the team’s downward spiral.

Which raises the real question: In the middle of all that noise, will owner Art Rooney take the fanbase’s anger to heart, or will he stick to what he’s always done: stand firmly behind his head coach? Dejan Kovacevic of Pittsburgh Sports laid out a couple of paths Rooney could choose from, and both say a lot about where this franchise might be heading next.

Kovacevic argues that Rooney’s decision won’t hinge on the Steelers being technically tied with the Baltimore Ravens or holding their fate in their own hands with two matchups left against Baltimore. It also won’t center on Tomlin’s 6–11 stretch over his last 17 games or the coaching staff’s missteps over the past 13 weeks.

Instead, Rooney’s thinking falls into two familiar patterns. First, he simplifies everything down to one question: Did we win or not? Kovacevic notes that Rooney focuses on results, not the noise around him, whether that’s fans chanting for Tomlin’s firing or people nitpicking every coaching mistake.

He points to last season as proof: even after a five-game collapse, Rooney’s first instinct in conversation was to highlight the team starting 10–3, not the meltdown. And now, with the Steelers sitting at 6–6 and tied for first, Rooney is far more likely to view the situation through that same cool, hopeful lens.

The second layer is Rooney’s independence. He isn’t easily swayed by public sentiment or minority owners. He trusts his own judgment and the “Steelers Way,” which often means sticking with leadership through adversity rather than reacting to outside pressure. After all, it’s the same franchise that has just three HCs in the last 56 years. We saw that after last year’s collapse, when Kovacevic asked if Rooney understood the fan anger, and Rooney responded:

“My inbox has been pretty full. I have a sense. And I share the frustration. It’s very disappointing. I understand why. I understand why people are mad. All I can say is actions speak louder than words, and we’ve got to be better.”

That’s who he is. So even with fans calling for Tomlin’s job, internal support softening, and the Steelers stumbling through the past few weeks, Kovacevic’s read is that Rooney isn’t rushing anything. Not because he’s avoiding a decision, but because for him, it’s never about the noise. In fact, it’s about whether the team can still win and whether the coach’s approach is fixable.

Mike Tomlin shared the frustration with fans on Sunday

The Steelers, with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers under the center and under the guidance of Mike Tomlin, started strong this season. We’re talking about 4-1 in the first five weeks. But fast forward to now, and the team has fallen to 6-6 and has lost five of its last seven games. The 26-7 loss to the Bills was the latest in a season that seems to go wrong.

But that loss wasn’t the only thing that stung Tomlin. It was the boos and chants of firing the head coach. And you can tell why. The Steelers, at one point, were leading 7-6. But then Rodgers had to exit for a brief time to treat his bleeding nose, and by the time he returned, the game was unraveling.

To make it uglier, the fans responded with boos, and the chants of “Fire Tomlin” broke out. It was something that Mike Tomlin could relate to, as he noted after the game:

“Man, I share their frustration tonight. We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it.” Indeed!

The Steelers didn’t come close to doing enough. They mustered only 90 yards through three quarters and finished with just 166 total yards. On third down, they converted a rough 3-of-9. Individually, Rodgers completed only 10 of 21 passes and even coughed up a fumble. And the defense? Somehow even worse. Pittsburgh gave up 249 rushing yards, the most an opponent has ever put up at Acrisure Stadium.

Looking back at it, the chaotic Week 13 at Acrisure was tangible. But will it affect Tomlin’s job or not? That’s all up to Art Rooney. The Steelers will look to improve their record. And things will kick off next week with a divisional matchup against the Ravens on the road.