Miles Killebrew isn’t overlooking the Buffalo Bills. But he believes they’re just the first stop on a long playoff run for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Speaking to reporters Friday, 48 hours before the team’s AFC Wild Card game, Killebrew expressed confidence in winning Sunday.
And beyond.
“We’re in search of something great here, and I think we have the team to do it,” he said via Steelers.com. ‘I’m excited to see how far we can go. One game at a time, obviously, but I’m really excited about this unit here. It’s different.”
Pittsburgh’s season has been full of ups and downs. The Steelers were blown out in Week One to San Francisco, billed as a marquee matchup that ended with a whimper. The Steelers bounced back with two straight wins, including one in a primetime matchup over the Cleveland Browns, before getting rocked again by the Houston Texans. Sitting 3-2 at the bye, they won three of their next four, pushing to 7-4 and in control of a playoff spot while threatening the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North lead.
From there, they collapsed, losing three-straight, including falling to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots in a span of five days. Following an ugly loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh’s season seemed done and questions about team culture and Mike Tomlin’s future hung heavy.
Backed into a corner, the Steelers turned to Mason Rudolph and won their final three games. They finally won in comfortable fashion, blowing out the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-11, in Week 16 and following that with a solid win against the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 17. Pittsburgh wrapped up its season with a grind-it-out victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the rain, a must-win game considering how things broke on Sunday.
Killebrew’s played his part in the Steelers reaching the postseason. Making his first All-Pro team, he blocked a pair of punts, was a core special teamer, and contributed in the team’s dime defense over the final three weeks, showing off his physicality and tackling. Weather will play a factor in the team’s first step, beating the heavily favored Bills, but Killebrew, who played college football at Southern Utah, doesn’t mind.
“That’s something that we have to be ready for it,” he said. “But so do they. I like our approach to it. I’m excited to see how we go out there and handle it.”
Pittsburgh’s last playoff win came in 2016, a Divisional Round victory at Kansas City. It marked the last time the Steelers even came close to the Super Bowl, falling in the AFC Championship Game that season. Their last Super Bowl appearance came in the 2010 season, a loss to the Green Bay Packers, while their last Super Bowl win came in 2008, knocking off the Arizona Cardinals.
Winning the AFC will be a monumental task, the Steelers needing to run the table on the road. It will require beating the Bills this weekend, upsetting Baltimore on the road next weekend (a challenge but possible given the Steelers’ track record) and defeating whichever team they’d face in the conference title game, potentially the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium. Killebrew hasn’t lost sight on what’s in front of him, Buffalo this weekend, but his vision goes beyond just winning this game. He wants a Lombardi to pair with his All-Pro selection.
