As Bing Crosby once sang with a few friends, “Snow…snow…snow…it won’t long before were there with snow,” the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills first-round playoffs game will be covered with snow…snow…snow.
This is a gift from the skies above because it will mean the Steelers’ new re-sensation Mason Rudolph might have a chance of competing with the real deal quarterback of the Bills, Josh Allen.
If it comes down to smash-and-dash football in a total whiteout of snow, you’ve got to like the Steelers’ chances. At least much better than if it was Miami weather.
So, bring it on, Frosty the Snowman. Snow…snow…snow.
The fact the Steelers are even in the playoffs is a snowball’s chance type of good news. After starting 7-4 and looking convincing, they tailspinned rather heavily before bouncing back admirably to land an unlikely spot in this round of the NFL playoffs.
You can hear the chant of “Here we go, Steelers, here we go” in the wintery winds that we’ll be expecting on Sunday.
But there is something else we’re hearing. “Here we go…again?”
As in, are we going to get blown out again in the first round of the playoffs?
Steelers Nation is holding their breath on this one and maybe even turning a little blue in the face as we do.
Will Coach Mike Tomlin have his team ready for a real run this year in the dance? Let’s give it a Spin.
The SteelHawks
I have a friend who lives in Seattle, Washington, and he told me this week, “Congratulations to your Pittsburgh Steelers for getting Pete Carroll fired.”
I actually like Pete Carroll and believe he’s a gifted coach. He’s well-loved by his players, so this statement didn’t give me comfort. Mainly because it’s probably true.
It was the Steelers beatdown of the Seahawks a couple of weeks back that is ultimately to blame for causing Seattle to miss the playoffs this year. It was a high-stakes poker game between two of the league’s most tenured coaches, Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll, and it ended up being Carroll who went bust.
The fact he lost his job proves that even when winning, highly-regarded coaches can get the boot.
As the Seahawks’ own website shares:
Seattle has reached the postseason 10 of Carroll’s 13 seasons as coach, advanced to the divisional round seven times, winning two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl while claiming the Number One seed.
Also, Carroll has a 137-69-1 record as head coach of the Seahawks.
Those are undeniably, hugely impressive accomplishments by Carroll.
The problem, as my Seahawk friend shares, is that he hasn’t been able to get them over the main hump of the playoffs recently. He can get them in, but then they perform poorly.
Sound familiar?
My Seahawks friend says he has another Steelers friend, and the two of them commiserate over this shared frustration by calling both teams the “SteelHawks”.
Of course, Carroll is out as the Seahawks coach, and Tomlin is preparing his team for the first round of the playoffs. According to reports, the Steelers are ready to extend Tomlin’s contract far into the future.
What a difference a city makes.
Like, take Boston, for instance. Can you believe the New England Patriots jettisoned their head coach Bill Belichick? Many consider him to be the coaching G.O.A.T. who was able to earn six Super Bowl championships while compiling a record of 266-121-0 in his 24 seasons there.
When Tomlin says he has the best job in the NFL, he isn’t joking.
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
Steelers fans are notorious for complaining about T.J. Watt’s injuries. He plays harder than most players, so we should expect him to get broken every once in a while.
If the Steelers lose against the Buffalo Bills, you can already hear fans crying in their Terrible Towels saying, “If only we had T.J.….if only we had T.J.”
Yet, the Bills are one team who have been stung harder than the Steelers in terms of defensive injuries, especially considering that the Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick will be back on the field with his fellow soldiers for this game.
The Bills lost one of the most athletic linebackers in the league in Matt Milano early in the season and haven’t been the same since. Add to this, they also lost their star cornerback, Tre’Davious White, for the year, and you can fairly say that T.J.’s injury is kind of a wash.
Steelers Still Have An Edge
I’m here in Las Vegas, Nevada for an old guys’ soccer tournament, and my roommate is not only a cheetah of a central defender, but he’s a lifelong Steelers fan. His take on T.J. Watt’s absence is that the team will do just fine.
He just lost money at the blackjack table, so take his thoughts for what they are worth, but he says the Steelers won’t miss a beat with the depth they have at edge rusher. He says to expect Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig to have no problem filling the All-Pro hole in the defense.
What does the Spin say? We’re going to really miss T.J. Watt.
The Story Untold
We all love shiny new objects, and one of our favorites this year has been first-round draft pick Broderick Jones, who is so talented he’s playing completely out of position while still dominating the opposition. He was drafted as a left tackle but has gamely embraced the right side of the line and has been collapsing defenses on behalf of the team’s ascendant running game.
But is he hogging up all of the offensive headlines unfairly? Isn’t there another player even more worthy of some black ink? The answer to this question is “Yes”.
Isaac Seumalo has enjoyed one of the best seasons a Steelers offensive lineman has ever experienced, and yet he is rarely spoken of as one of the main reasons for the team’s ability to run impressively.
And he’s not only been a force in the running game but he’s also been unbeatable in pass protection. As in, no one has beat him this year for a sack.
As much as we’ve been enamored with Jones, let’s not forget to give Seumalo his due.
The unfortunate part about Seumalo is that he’s already 30 years old. Otherwise, you might say he’s one of the foundational pieces of the line to build on for the future.
Still, he’s proven to be one of the better free-agent acquisitions in recent Steelers history and deserves as much credit for the team making the playoffs as any other offensive player.
Snowbowl
Could the weather end up being so bad in Buffalo this Sunday that they end up postponing or moving the game?
It may seem odd, but the Buffalo Bills might just hope it happens. With high winds and whiteout conditions, the odds start to shift towards Pittsburgh’s favor every so slightly.
The question will be whether that shift will be enough.
The Bills are a shadow of their greatest selves this season, but they have proven to be both talented and resilient. They are favored, and they should be favored to win, even with the harsh climates.
But Coach Mike Tomlin needs this win badly. Much more than he would say so in public. He’s well aware that Steelers Nation is no longer highly impressed with win-loss records. They want playoffs and Super Bowl wins, and they want them now.
No one circles the wagons…like Mike Tomlin. So, don’t be surprised for his team to surprise.
And…let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
