It's fitting the Pittsburgh Steelers regular-season finale would provide all the drama and edge-of-your-seat action the NFL dreamed up decades ago. It's a minor miracle the club still had hopes of a playoff spot as kickoff on Sunday loomed versus the Cleveland Browns at the stadium not to be named.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 08: Derek Watt #44 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium on January 08, 2023, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Facing a three-week gauntlet of 'need to win and get help', somehow, someway the men of steel kept hopes alive, only to be foiled by a club they gave up a 10-point lead to in October. Fitting I suppose that Joe Flacco lifted one more dagger to end a Steelers season, albeit in a New York Jets uniform losing to the Miami Dolphins, another club who took the Steelers down to defeat this season.
Despite the obstacles, including the injury to T.J. Watt at the end of the Cincinnati Bengals game in Week 1, the ineptitude of the offense under Matt Canada and the fumbled start to Kenny Pickett's career in a Steelers uniform, Mike Tomlin may very well have turned in his best performance of his 16 seasons leading the franchise. Faced with all that was mentioned, Mike Tomlin dug deep. He found some luck and parlayed gutty efforts by those he coached to fight back to the very end.
Early Season Struggles No Reward For Steelers Providing Hardest Coaching Test To Date Under Tomlin's Direction
Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick (left) shakes hands with Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin (right). | Credit: Associated Press
The first eight games were an awful one for this team, with rock bottom being the beatdown in Buffalo where Tomlin declared afterward 'you have to be open to change' only to change absolutely nothing! No starters were benched. No coaching changes were made. The only change was to a kid who probably could have started the season, but got thrust into action due to the lack of performance that Tomlin and Canada had a big hand in.
So how did this team turn it around? They started it with a win at home versus Tampa Bay but ended the first half of the year with losses at Miami and Philadelphia. Outside of the injury to T.J., the main issue was the lack of offensive production. Well, that's easy to assess who is responsible for that. Fairly well documented I'd guess. The entire Mitch Trubisky situation was just a botched effort on all ends.
Then you throw Kenny Pickett into action, on the fly in the fourth game of the season because, panic maybe? Not ideal, but this is big-boy football. Pickett ran for a pair of scores but was responsible for three turnovers as the Jets rallied in the final seconds to win. That game alone gets you into the playoffs. We haven't even brought up the Patriots' defeat, but again, we know this.
So enough of the bad stuff. Where did Mike Tomlin shine?
Steelers Work To Fix Rough Start Under Rookie QB Kenny Pickett As Watt's Return Rewards Team At Right Time
Jan 9, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt (90) reacts after sacking Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (2) during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium / Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
After an abysmal 2-6 start to 2022, there was only one way to go and that was up. Facing a possible top-five draft pick, this was a position the Steelers haven't seen since the 1970s. It wasn't pretty, but the club opened up a 10-0 lead before the Saints tied things before halftime. After a scoreless third, the Steelers clawed their way to a victory, one that saw Pickett show improvement by not turning the ball over while running for the game-clinching touchdown with eight minutes to play. Pickett would go into December for committing a turnover.
However, his untimely injury early in the Ravens game on December 12th cost the team momentum on offense. Not that they were scoring in baskets, but Mitch Trubisky's three costly interceptions did the team in, two deep in the red zone of the enemy. It was a fatal loss, making it their eighth of the year. They would need to win out and get a lot of help in order to play into January. This is where Tomlin did his best work. Both he and his staff worked hard on adjustments and just looked prepared each time they came out starting with the road win at Carolina where they never trailed.
Then came the Immaculate Reception game versus the Las Vegas Raiders in bitterly cold conditions and a win at Baltimore, but spearheaded by the rookie QB's play in the final seconds of each. They just needed the Jets to beat Miami and the post-season, something that was all but dead in November could have happened.
Preparing for 2023 The Main Focus For Tomlin And Staff After Playoff Hopes Were Dashed Only Goal Until April
Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, and head coach Mike Tomlin on the field at Acrisure Stadium | Photo Credit: Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
There is zero doubt who runs the Steelers' ship and that is Mike Tomlin 100 percent, and rightfully so. Art Rooney II will not meddle in the decision-making process that Tomlin has earned. Like it or not, Matt Canada isn't going anywhere. If Tomlin would not act on this after a 35-point beatdown to Buffalo, he certainly won't be replacing Canada in the off-season, given his praise for how Canada finished despite being asked by the local media how Tomlin saw Canada's performance. I'd be shocked if any move was made on Canada or Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin.
It's easy to pick on Mike Tomlin at times. His in-game decisions are just not improving, missing on a clear challenge in the Browns win when they went hurry-up after Najee Harris clearly scored on a short run. For whatever reason, the team ran a quick play and then turned it over the following snap. It didn't hurt them, but it was obvious and yet another example of what frustrates you about him. Yet he's now gone 16 years without a losing record. It sounds nice and nobody in the history of the league has done this, but at the end of the day, you play and coach to win titles.
There has been no Super Bowl since 2010, and the team has not won a playoff game in seven seasons now, the longest since prior to the Chuck Noll era. This is Mike Tomlin's team. What he does with it between now and the draft in April will help chart the course for 2023. With a somewhat favorable home and away schedule, nine-home games to boot, plus a franchise QB who should only improve, things could be trending up for this team. We will need to wait a full calendar year and see just how much progress, if any, was made.
So Steelers fans, what are your 0ff-season predictions for the Steelers? Sound off below!
#SteelerNation
