The Pittsburgh Steelers ended the 2023 regular season with a three-game winning streak. But the Steelers still needed help from either the Tennessee Titans or Miami Dolphins on January 7 to make the playoffs.
The Titans obliged, handing the Jacksonville Jaguars a loss in Week 18. But while Tennessee played well, those who believe in superstitions would argue the Terrible Towel helped with the victory, cursing the Jaguars.
That’s what the Steelers official X (formerly Twitter) account suggested with a dig at the Jaguars immediately after Tennessee defeated Jacksonville, 28-20, on January 7.
“When will yinz learn…,” the Steelers tweeted as a caption to a video of Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard celebrating with the Terrible Towel.
Wingard was celebrating with the towel after an interception in the Jaguars 20-10 victory over the Steelers on October 29.
When will yinz learn… https://t.co/hrP3b7U7hO
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 7, 2024
The Steelers tweet received more than 2 million views.
Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, who referred to the Jaguars as having a “hope defense” before the teams played in October, also went viral when he reposted the tweet on his Instagram account.
The Blitzburgh Twitter account tweeted a picture of Pickens’ repost from Instagram.
George Pickens on IG. 😭😈 #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/DrY3LWTXaS
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) January 7, 2024
The Steelers’ Terrible Towel Curse
Being only 27 years old and from Wyoming, Wingard was apparently unaware of the potential danger of messing with the Terrible Towel. Other opponents over the years, though, have learned about the curse the hard way too.
Two of the more notable instances came during Pittsburgh’s last two Super Bowl seasons.
In 2005, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandazdeh cleaned his cleats with the Terrible Towel after defeating the Steelers in Week 13.
The Bengals won the AFC North, but when the Steelers and Bengals met again in the Wild Card round, Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter. The Steelers won the matchup, 31-17.
In 2008, Titans’ LenDale White and Keith Bulluck stomped on the Terrible Towel after defeating the Steelers in Week 16. The victory gave the Titans home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
But Tennessee didn’t earn a rematch against the No. 2-seeded Steelers. The Titans lost right after their bye week in the Divisional round.
In both of those seasons, the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Jaguars Fall Victim to the Terrible Towel
In their next game after celebrating with the Terrible Towel, the Jaguars suffered a 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. With that defeat, it appeared the Terrible Towel curse had struck again.
But believers in the towel’s power would argue it wasn’t done with the Jaguars.
After beating the Steelers, Jacksonville ended the season 3-6, including 1-5 after December 1.
In Week 18, the Steelers needed the Jaguars to lose to earn a playoff berth. While the Jaguars had a road game scheduled for Week 18, it was against the previously 5-11 Titans.
But outside of two brief leads in the first and second quarters, the Jaguars trailed the entire game. The Titans intercepted Jacksonville signal caller Trevor Lawrence twice, and they stopped him on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.
With the victory, the Steelers secured their second playoff berth in three years thanks to an AFC South team losing in the season finale. Ironically, in 2021, the Jaguars defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 to help the Steelers earn the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs.
The Steelers also hold the No. 7 seed this year. They will visit the Buffalo Bills on January 14.
