The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 30-13 to the Indianapolis Colts in a critical Week 15 game. That makes three straight losses for the Steelers. Between this game and the back-to-back losses to 2-10 teams before this week, the Steelers have reached a new low. Talks of the “Steeler Way” fading from the franchise and a void of leadership in the locker room will only grow louder with one more week to cook under the pressures of the media.
That isn’t stopping some Steelers players from remaining resolute in the face of adversity, at least while the cameras are on them. Joey Porter Jr. spoke to the media in the locker room after the Indy game and was asked how confident he is that the Steelers can turn things around.
“Very confident,” Porter said in a video posted on the team’s website. “You always gotta be confident. I haven’t given up on this team.”
The Steelers’ playoff chances have plummeted over the last three weeks. Heading into Week 13, the Steelers had a 79.2 percent chance of making the playoffs. Exiting their Saturday loss to the Colts, that is now down to eight percent. A collapse of this magnitude could easily break the spirit of a team, but the rookie is remaining positive. “Everybody feels the same way,” Porter added.
If there is any young player in the locker room who knows what the “Steeler Way” is, it would be Porter. He grew up around the team while his father, Joey Porter Sr., played for some of the great defenses of the early-to-mid 2000s. So while there is plenty of talk of the team losing its way, there are young players with plenty of talent who seem to have a good head on their shoulders. These types of personalities in the locker room matter. Just look at Steelers teams of the past in the midst of a similar collapse. In 2019, the team started 0-3 before winning eight of its next 10. That type of turnaround isn’t possible if players have mentally checked out or given up on the team.
Timing is everything, and the 2019 team had the benefit of getting those early losses out of the way. The 2023 Steelers are running out of time. The locker room hasn’t devolved into finger pointing or reckless public venting, but it might not matter with the playoffs nearly out of reach. Even if they win their final three games, which seems unlikely at this point, the Steelers could find themselves on the outside looking in at the AFC Wild Card field.
Porter isn’t the only one saying these things, either. RB Jaylen Warren expressed a similar sentiment in the locker room media session.
“I have all the confidence in the world that we’re gonna get it right,” he said.
