It doesn’t make much sense, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-3 on the season after a come-from-behind 20-16 win Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium against the Tennessee Titans.
Once again, the Steelers were outgained on the night — 340-326 yards — marking the eighth time this season the Steelers were outgained. Yet, they are two games above .500.
Former Steelers’ standout safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, while appearing on ESPN’s Get Up Friday morning, couldn’t quite explain the success the Steelers are having from a wins and losses perspective. But there’s one man he can point to when it comes to the Steelers’ success in close games: head coach Mike Tomlin.
“Listen, I can’t explain it. We never got outgained like this. People couldn’t move the football on us. So this is something new for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin, but what’s not new is finding a way to win. I know we talk about the stat very often that Mike Tomlin has never had a new a losing season. But this is part of it. Think about the way that this team has rebounded after every loss this season,” Clark said, according to video via ESPN’s Get Up. “…In my opinion, Mike Tomlin is about winning football. Mike Tomlin’s message doesn’t change week to week. Now, it will adjust based on how his team plays, and what he’s shown is when his team loses the game, he understands how to get them back refocused. How to get them dialed in and find a way to win.
“Can this team win playoff games? Hell no, right? Because when you get against the good of the good every week, the good teams are gonna find a way to beat you. But will they win regular-season games because of the man that the helm with the headphones on? Absolutely.”
The inability to outgain the other team week to week certainly is something new for the Steelers. However, it’s not something new in the NFL landscape as the Steelers are the 34th team in NFL history, according to ESPN Stats and Info, to be outgained in the first eight games of the season. What is new is that the Steelers are the first team in that league history to have a winning record.
Somehow, some way, the Steelers are finding ways to win. Even if it’s ugly and requires late-game heroics, the Steelers find a way to get it done with Kenny Pickett under center.
Thursday night, Pickett orchestrated the seventh game-winning drive in his young career. At times on Thursday night the Steelers looked quite competent offensively, scoring an opening-drive touchdown and establishing a running game, but the passing game was hit or miss. Then, the Steelers turned it on late behind Pickett.
The second-year quarterback hit a 32-yard deep ball to Diontae Johnson down the right sideline, and then later found his top receiver for a 3-yard touchdown to take the lead late. The Steelers then allowed the Titans and rookie quarterback Will Levis to drive down the field, but veteran linebacker Kwon Alexander personified the “bend, don’t break” mantra, picking off Levis to seal the win.
The Steelers are quite comfortable in close games that come down to the wire. For Clark, that’s because of Tomlin.
“They have a coach who’s done it for almost two decades. …It’s about buy-in,” Clark said. “It is about belief. because when the game is close, they can look at their head coach and say, ‘He’s been here before.’ When the game is close, they can look at their head coach and say, ‘He told me this on Monday. He told me this on Wednesday morning and we are in the exact position.’ He said, we would be in and this is how we win the game. And I think all of that plays into the Steelers being five and three right now, albeit with us having no idea how in the hell they are.”
Clark summed it up perfectly with the Steelers under Tomlin. The style might not be pretty, but at the end of the day it’s about playing winning football, scoring more points than the other team. The offense might struggle to do much of anything throughout games, but when it’s close and tight, the Steelers thrive in those situations because of Tomlin and the environment he creates throughout the week.
They don’t blink, they’ve cut their eyelids off, and they stare down adversity with no fear. That’s a winning formula in the regular season. In the playoffs? It’s unlikely, but anything can happen in tight football games.
