After the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 11 loss against the Cleveland Browns, the visitors’ locker room did not seem like a fun place. RB Najee Harris called out Pittsburgh for not playing well, and WR Diontae Johnson reportedly got into it postgame with S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada got fired two days later, and the Steelers looked as good as they have offensively all season in their 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. In turn, the locker room was in a very different mood.
Mike Tomlin told the locker room to “play my music” upon entering. T.J. Watt told ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin that the team had to celebrate its hard work.
“When the hard work pays off, you have to celebrate. At the same time, we understand that we can only celebrate for so long, so that’s why we’re in such a good mood right now, we know that this is just a step in the right direction of where we want to go,” Watt said postgame.
In the locker room, the team had an impromptu dance party, as seen on Keeanu Benton’s Instagram Live account.
It was a much different vibe than the week before. And it’s the type of vibe that the Steelers need going forward. It’s a team that can’t afford to fracture, and the risks of losing the locker room and that being the case is probably one of the reasons that led to Canada getting let go.
Hopefully, the positive performance on offense can continue and it’s something that the team can build upon. While everything looked better, the Steelers still only scored 16 points, which isn’t going to be good enough a lot of the time. Putting more points on the board should be a focus going forward, and it will be for new co-offensive coordinators Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan.
Defensively, it’s going to help a lot if the Steelers’ offense can stay on the field and sustain drives like it did Sunday. The defense has already seen a ton of snaps this year, so keeping that unit off the field and preventing as much wear and tear as possible is going to be important.
The Steelers have a prime opportunity to keep the good vibes rolling. With the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots due up over the next two weeks, the Steelers are going to have a really good chance to get to 9-4 before their matchup with the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. If the locker room can continue to stay together and the team plays how it did against the Bengals, the Steelers should be in a good spot to make the playoffs.
