Keep the important things the most important. I mentioned it when the Pittsburgh Steelers were flying high against the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Despite two big losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens, the mood remains unchanged. There is no doubt about it. It was difficult to catch the ‘L’. The Eagles and Ravens are stomping the Steelers at the line of scrimmage. It’s more physical. It’s more fundamental. Arguably, this is the better team by a clear margin.
That’s not how the Steelers season will be remembered. Whether Pittsburgh continues to prove the pundits wrong or is dwarfed against top opponents, what matters is the playoffs.
That is the measure of success. Making the postseason was a no-brainer for this organization. It’s much harder to win there. Real progress means advancing to the divisional round. Anything that falls short of that mark. same steelers. With slightly better or worse packaging depending on how they got there.
They beat their regular season rivals to advance to the playoffs, but it’s happened before. The season is truly a trend. Learn a hard lesson from these losses and come out victorious on Wild Card Weekend, no matter what your opponent is. The Steelers have made great strides. That’s the key.
Of course, losing these games doesn’t inspire confidence in what Pittsburgh can do in the playoffs. But the NFL is so volatile from week to week that all it takes is a good game plan, big plays, and improving health.
Health is a key factor for the Steelers. No team is completely healthy, and Pittsburgh has some better teams than others. The Detroit Lions are 13-2 despite having a defensive MASH unit. I expect Alan Alda to show up and play rush end. However, there is no doubt that WR George Pickens and SS DeShon Elliott are missing. These are the difference-makers who shape the structure of how the Steelers win and how the team defends against it. The absence of Pickens means defenses stack the box and bottle up runs. The absence of Elliott means fewer sub-packages and keeping FS Minkah Fitzpatrick near the line, hurting the team’s coverage. By the playoffs, possibly as early as Christmas, these two will be back.
This is how Pittsburgh’s season will be remembered. The logic is that Mike Tomlin won in the regular season doesn’t matter, and what stands out on his resume is his lack of recent playoff wins, which is a fair criticism, and that’s still true even if the Steelers lose. Last season was not a success. That’s because Mason Rudolph advanced Pittsburgh to the playoffs by winning three straight games in the regular season. I remember one on one in snowy Buffalo.
Excusing losses is not the point. The Steelers are showing cracks as they face their toughest test. Conceding the AFC North to their longest first-place drought in 30 years is painful. Playing away games this postseason is not ideal. However, I would like to point out that the Steelers have been upset in their last two home playoff games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. Evaluating the here and now is all we can do, but remember what the end goal is. This is not today’s story. It’s around January.
Pittsburgh qualifies for the playoffs. They did what they always did. Now their true test awaits. The most important thing is the main headline about how 2024 will be in the books. The Steelers’ season should always be viewed as either a postseason triumph or a tragedy. This is no different.
