When the game is close in the fourth quarter and the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing, there’s a good chance the team in Black and Gold is going to come out on top. All four of Pittsburgh’s wins this season could be classified as “heart attack football” with each one being decided by one possession. On The Mike Tomlin Show, which is streamed on the Steelers YouTube page, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave the secret as to why: conditioning.
“I think first it’s a very physical thing, it’s conditioning,” said Tomlin to Bob Pompeani. “If you’re not highly conditioned you’re not gonna have the energy required to finish, the detail required to finish. And those are major components of finishing.”
Under Tomlin the Steelers have very physical training camps and are not afraid to play starters in preseason. While other teams, like the Los Angeles Rams, have chosen not to play starters in preseason to prevent injury, Tomlin has his starters play to build their conditioning so they are ready for the long grind of the season.
For as bad as the Steelers look at times, once the fourth quarter comes around they are almost always the better team. In their last two games, against the Baltimore Ravens and Rams, Pittsburgh outscored their opponent in the fourth by a combined 28-0. In the first three quarters, Pittsburgh was outscored 217-13 in those two games.
Just because the team has good conditioning does not mean they are going to be able to come back every fourth quarter, they also have to be mentally tough. Tomlin also credited the Steelers’ mental fortitude as to why they always seem to come back from the dead.
“And then there’s the collective mental resolve and approach that’s required,” Tomlin said. “‘Cause there’s ebb and flow in every game and the effects of that often alter your approach or your outlook at the weighty moment. And [I] think we got generally a mentally tough group.”
Tomlin is a defensive coach, and oftentimes times the Steelers’ defense will make a big play that changes the flow of the game for the Steelers in the fourth quarter and the offense can capitalize. Once again referencing the Ravens game, Baltimore had a chance to put the game away after a muffed punt from former Steeler Gunner Olszewski but rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. made a huge interception in the end zone which gave QB Kenny Pickett the ball and he mounted a game-winning drive.
No matter how bad a situation seems for Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter, you can almost never count them out. While it certainly would be nice for Pittsburgh to win a game without having to break a sweat, that just is not the team they are. Only the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals have been outgained in yardage in every game, and Pittsburgh is 4-2 while the Cardinals are 1-6.
Chalk it up to conditioning or mental fortitude, Tomlin’s teams always seem to find a way to snatch victory in the jaws of defeat.
