During an appearance on Good Morning Football this morning, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson said he felt the team’s 2023 season, which ended with a loss in the Wild Card Round to the Buffalo Bills, was a success. Peterson said the way the team dealt with injuries and its quarterback situation and still finished with a good record makes it a success.
“I did enjoy the season. I feel like it was a success, dealing with all the injuries that we had to deal with, dealing with the quarterback situations. For us to still end up 10-7, having a hot start but kind of simmering down a bit at the end of the season. But I have to tilt my hat off to Coach [Mike] Tomlin ’cause he’s the guy who really keeps everyone laser-focused on the task at hand.”
In Pittsburgh, first-round playoff exits generally aren’t successful, no matter how good the team might have been in the regular season. The Steelers did overcome a lot of adversity, and as someone in the locker room, Peterson is rightfully proud of the fact that the Steelers mitigated a number of injuries, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and to QB Kenny Pickett to rally and make the playoffs.
Pittsburgh lost starting linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season in back-to-back weeks, and three weeks after that, Pickett went down. Starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick also missed time, and when Fitzpatrick was out with Damontae Kazee suspended and Trenton Thompson hurt, the Steelers had to move Peterson to safety where he played well alongside Eric Rowe. The Steelers were able to win their last three games after a brutal losing streak from Weeks 13-15 that saw them lose to back-to-back 2-10 teams, and it was an impressive turnaround.
Tomlin deserves flak for his lack of recent playoff success and how unprepared the Steelers seemed to be during their three-game losing streak. But he also deserves credit for rallying them down the stretch to make the playoffs and sticking with Mason Rudolph at quarterback even when Pickett got healthy. Rudolph’s play was the best that Pittsburgh has had in years at the quarterback position, and he was instrumental in the team turning things around late in the season.
While I wouldn’t deem the season a success, I can understand why Peterson thinks so. But winning playoff games is the true measure of success, and if that doesn’t start happening soon for the Steelers, it’s going to become a bigger deal than it already is.
