There might not be a national media member who hears about the Pittsburgh Steelers as much as Rich Eisen. One of the biggest supporters of Mike Tomlin and the team, he took heat from Steelers fans bombarding him with tweets as he stood by Tomlin even in the middle of their three-game losing streak. And though even Eisen’s faith wavered ever so slightly, he can’t help but gloat a little bit about a Steelers team that has righted the ship and could play on Wild-Card weekend.
On Tuesday’s episode of the Rich Eisen Show, he made sure to note the Twitter silence of Steelers fans’ cries to fire Tomlin.
“Do you hear the sound…it’s the sound of silence,” Eisen said. “Do you hear anything right now? That’s the noise on my Twitter feed the last two weeks from Western Pennsylvania? Isn’t that interesting? I know I’m engaging the Yinzers right now. Which didn’t go well for me for a three-week period. But look who’s in the playoffs mix.”
Pittsburgh fell from its perch of 7-4 and atop the AFC Wild Card standings while still threatening the Baltimore Ravens for the divisional crown. But a three-game skid that flipped the script included two crushing losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, a pair of 2-10 teams. In Week 15, Pittsburgh fell in blowout fashion to the Indianapolis Colts. Boxed into a corner and turning to Mason Rudolph, the Steelers have rattled off two impressive victories, knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals at home before going on the road to beat the Seattle Seahawks, who were 5-2 at home before Pittsburgh came to town.
“Look at what Mike Tomlin’s offense is looking like with Mason Rudolph,” Eisen said. “Look at them putting up 30-burgers like it’s nothing all of a sudden.”
With Rudolph, the Steelers’ offense has scored 64 points in two games. The last time Pittsburgh scored 30 or more points in back-to-back games was 2020. If they can make it three straight against Baltimore on Saturday, it’ll be the first time since 2015.
Eisen acknowledged that Tomlin waited too long to play Rudolph, a move he made essentially because he had no other choice. And he understands that Pittsburgh’s still not guaranteed to make the postseason, needing help to make Wild-Card weekend. Even with a win, sitting at home for the second-straight year and extending their playoff win drought to seven years will still be a disappointment. And that Eisen’s bragging could quickly come to a halt.
“Steelers go to 10-7, don’t make the playoffs. And Steelers fans go, ‘Where do we put the banner of not having a losing season again?'” Eisen said.
But for now, spirits are high. The help Pittsburgh needs is plausible. If they win, a Buffalo Bills loss to the Miami Dolphins or a Jacksonville Jaguars loss to the Tennessee Titans would push the Steelers into a Wild-Card spot. Even a loss still offers a viable path, a Jaguars loss, a Denver Broncos win, and avoiding a tie between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans.
“Tomlin keeps waving that wand late in the season…what’s he doing with the play calling? What’s he doing playing Pickens? What’s he doing doing this? What’s he doing doing that? Winning. In Seattle. In Week 17,” Eisen said.
Tomlin’s Steelers will be first up for the regular season’s final weekend, kicking things off against the Ravens at 4:30 PM/EST. From there, they’ll await their playoff fate, making for one of the most interesting weekends they’ve had in years.
Catch the whole segment below.
