The Pittsburgh Steelers have been synonymous with 'winning' and 'success' for many years. After a dismal start to the season going 2-6, many Steelers fans wanted the team to quit, go into full rebuild mode and tank for a pick in the upper echelon of the draft. The team must not have gotten the memo about that as they’re closing in on a winning record with a glimmer of hope for a playoff berth.
Photo Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Remaining Relevant Heading Into January
2023 will begin on Sunday, and the Steelers will be in a great position to begin the new year if everything falls into place. First and foremost, Pittsburgh must be victorious on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. From there, they must hope that both the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets lost their games earlier in the day. If all that happens, there’s still a slim chance the team makes it into the postseason.
It’s a stark contrast to where a lot of people thought Pittsburgh was going to be. Everyone had written the Steelers off, and as previously mentioned, it was perceived to be in the team’s best interest to lose so they would win more in the future. However, that’s not something the team is known for.
"If you know this organization, you know the core group of people that are here, there's never any give up from the front office to the players," said veteran Steelers Defensive Lineman Tyson Alualu. "No matter how bad it was getting for us, the outside noise saying those things. You hear a lot of that. It's true for some other organizations that try, not so much to tank, but try to get into better positioning and set up for next year.”
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield, @JSKOPhoto
Alualu knows this feeling as he began his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that has been struggling to find long-term success even though they’re consistently picking toward the top of the draft each year. Being a member of the Jaguars versus being a member of the Steelers is completely different and Alualu has seen that ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh back in 2017.
"Since I've been here, it's always been about, no matter who is on that field, we're going to come out and compete and go down fighting,” Alualu said. “As much as we would have wanted it to be better early in the year to be in better position, it still gives us that fighting chance. It says a lot about our coach, the organization and the players, never giving up and just continuing to fight."
Steelers Standard And The 'Steelers Way'
Over the years, Pittsburgh fans have discussed the 'Steelers Way.' The main question that is generally asked is whether or not the Steelers Way remains to this day. The answer to that is yes. It’s a mindset that instills that drive to never give up against all odds. This seems to have been inherited by the younger stars from some of the seasoned veterans on the roster.
"I don't think it's really me just passing it on," said Defensive Lineman Cam Heyward, the main purveyor of the Steelers Way within the locker room. "It's just living in it. There's a respect there that I was given as a young guy coming to this team. I think you know what you need to uphold. You want to be a part of that. To be a part of it, you have to give yourself."
Steelers' Cameron Heyward (#97) leads the defensive line through drills in Pittsburgh, PA. | Photo Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
One tradition that I personally love that the Steelers vets on the team do, is taking in the new guys, (rookies or just new acquisitions), and how they show them how things are done in Pittsburgh. That’s not a very common occurrence in the NFL nor in the “real world." But that’s just how things are done in the black and gold.
The lessons that were shared by the Steelers vets with the young stars have really helped out this season, particularly last week against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team was in a similar situation earlier in the year in Miami where they marched down the field for a potential game-winning drive but were unable to close the deal.
On Christmas Eve, the Steelers went down the field and Kenny Pickett delivered a laser pass to George Pickens to win the game. If the team hadn’t had that previous experience to learn from, they may not have been victorious.
Photo Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
"It was a big moment," Pickett said. "I think you saw a lot of guys stand up. I think that's where the positive is in the growth of going down there and finishing the game, where early in the season, the Miami game didn't go that way. But I think we all used that experience to help us out here in the end."
Do you believe the 'Steeler Way' has been beneficial to the team and organization? Let us know in the comments.
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