The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 18 of the 2022 NFL season somehow still in contention for the final AFC Wild Card spot after starting the year at 2-6. The team is on its first three-game winning streak of the season and can slip into the postseason with a win against the Cleveland Browns and a little bit of help. Considering everything that has happened throughout the year including a quarterback change to rookie Kenny Pickett and the long absence from the 2021 team MVP T.J. Watt, it is pretty remarkable that the organization sits in the position that they do today.
It all starts at the top and Head Coach Mike Tomlin has to receive some credit for how the team started and where they have ended up. Playoff wins may have been scarce in the last decade and while that is certainly a concern, this is one of the best coaching jobs of his career. The bye week was a clear reset for the team and whatever was said and done got the players’ juices flowing. They have even practiced on Friday with pads on, a clear indication Tomlin wants to send a message.
Following the franchise’s 16-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17, NFL Network host Rich Eisen talked a lot about the AFC playoff picture. Even though the Steelers are still a long shot to become the number seven seed, Eisen was very clear when talking about which team he would like to see the least out of the remaining four dueling it out for the final spot.
“The one you don’t want to face. The one I think would be the best team heading in with a head of steam is a team with multiple Pro Bowlers, if not, All-Pro players on defense and offense with a very stout big boy pants running back and a whole bunch of young players that just don’t know what they don’t know. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
He continued talking about the team’s leadership and was blunt when addressing fans who complain about Tomlin’s approach and coaching style. Eisen believes Tomlin is one of the NFL’s best and Pittsburgh fans have it good and shouldn’t ask for his firing.
“You have a Hall of Fame head coach. And if you think that Mike Tomlin isn’t all that or shouldn’t be around anymore after all this time, you are with all due respect, dumb. If you got your way, he would be hired elsewhere in 10 seconds,” Eisen said.
Eisen sang Tomlin’s praises some more and acknowledged that the players and staff in the building 100 percent buy into his philosophies. He paired that with mentioning a specific division rival that he thinks does not want to see the Steelers if they make the playoffs.
“He has one of the most incredible blends of smarts and heart and guts and boy what he sells is bought. I’m just seeing it right now for this team. They are on a roll and this would be the team that would potentially give teams fits. If it’s Cincinnati, I bet you Cincinnati [Bengals] wants no piece of them if they’re the two seed. They’ll take anybody else.”
Pittsburgh’s leader catches some heat in a city that is used to championships and not just being above .500. It’s hard to ignore the coaching job this season from Tomlin, however. It was his second in four years that the team was somehow still in the hunt and definitely should not have been, the other being in 2019 after Ben Roethlisberger had elbow surgery. Yet, here they are and it’d be ‘dumb’ to not give him credit where credit is due.
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