What a difference a game makes. Heading into Saturday, Mike Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh was publicly questioned. George Pickens become public enemy No. 1. And the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season was heading down the tubes.
With their most complete showing of the season, a 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, things look a lot better on Christmas Eve day. The Steelers still have their problems, their playoff odds remain a mountain to climb, but there’s a weight that’s been lifted off the team’s shoulders, snapping an ugly three-game losing skid with a must-have win.
Discussing the game on ESPN’s NFL Countdown, a very festive Rex Ryan says credit goes to Tomlin for keeping the team together. And last night’s win proves he hasn’t lost the locker room.
“Mike Tomlin, despite what people say, still runs that football team,” Ryan told the Countdown panel. “This is one of the best coaches in the National Football League, a Hall of Fame coach.”
Perhaps it should be of little surprise that the Steelers rallied. Backed into a corner in a game they couldn’t lose, playing at home, and essentially in a primetime spot with no other games taking place, these are the types of victories Pittsburgh pulls off.
Despite all their shortcomings, the Steelers have been excellent against the AFC North. Their 4-1 record against the division is better than anyone else in the North, even better than the 3-2 Baltimore Ravens, who could wrap things up with a win on Monday night. If the Steelers can knock off the Ravens in Week 18, they’ll become the first AFC North team to win five divisional games since the 2019 Ravens, who went 5-1 in a 14-2 season.
In their most critical moment, the Steelers showed up with their most complete game of the season. They started fast, WR George Pickens scoring from 86 yards away on the team’s first pass of the game. The defense picked off QB Jake Browning twice on his first four possessions and the Steelers raced out to an uncommon 24-0 lead at the half. And they answered when the Bengals finally landed on a punch, WR Tee Higgins mimicking Pickens with an 80-yard score to open up the third quarter. Pittsburgh countered with another long Pickens score, 66 yards down the left sideline to make it a 31-8 game. They cruised from there.
Entering the week, there was plenty of noise over Tomlin’s time with the team running out. Saturday morning, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini floated “chatter” over Washington, Chicago, and Carolina as potential trade destinations. With Pittsburgh’s win, for now, those thoughts have cooled. Ryan added that if Pittsburgh ever let Tomlin go, they’d make him a rich man.
“The leadership of Mike Tomlin always keeps this team in it. Steelers, you want to do Mike Tomlin a favor? Let him be a free agent. He will make more money than any other coach in the history of the National Football League if he’s a free agent.”
Even during the team’s miserable losing streak, the odds of Tomlin coaching somewhere else were slim. There was no indication ownership wanted to move on or that Tomlin wanted to start anew. Expect him to return to the Steelers’ sideline in 2024 and, as was also reported yesterday before kickoff, likely with a contract extension in-hand. One game doesn’t change away from the big-picture, the Steelers are still in clear danger of missing the playoffs and extending their postseason drought, but Saturday showed players haven’t given up on Tomlin and are fighting until the end.
