The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a spiral, and Mike Tomlin’s locker room seemed to have pointing fingers. At least that’s how some interpreted certain players’ postgame comments. That’s not how Tomlin saw it, but rather a product of frustration. And what he is seeing from his players right now has him encouraged about moving forward with them.
“I feel really good about what I felt from them today”, Tomlin said Monday of the energy from the Steelers’ locker room, via the team’s website. “We were very transparent about what needs to be done and our course of action in an effort to create it. But again, I think we show mentality with our urgency and how we work. And so I’m excited about getting back on the grass tomorrow and starting the process, but some bright eyes, man. Some rested faces. I felt real good about what we’re able to get done in a classroom-like setting this morning”.
As you might have noticed, the Steelers have lost three games in a row, all in troubling fashion. They have been outscored 90-40 during that stretch, even if they have lost to quality opponents. But the Steelers are supposed to be a quality opponent, even if they haven’t looked like it. And Tomlin hasn’t looked like a quality coach during this run, either.
The bad news is that the damage is already done. Because of their losing streak, the Steelers no longer have control over the AFC North. In order for Mike Tomlin to win his first division title since 2020, he needs to down on the Browns. The Steelers need the Ravens to lose, and they need to beat the Bengals.
The good news is that the Steelers are still in the postseason either way. And as long as they manage to win, they could net themselves a reasonably favorable matchup. With Tomlin now owning a losing postseason record, he would certainly appreciate a rare win in the single-elimination tournament.
There are some extenuating circumstances in recent weeks that may have contributed to the Steelers’ woes snowballing. Playing on short weeks, mostly on the road, and with key injuries on both sides of the ball, were a hindrance. While Tomlin won’t make excuses for the outcome, there’s no question that was a hard stretch of games. and we knew they would be half a year ago, so it’s not exactly surprising.
Heading into the season finale, the Steelers have now had plenty of rest. They should be fully healthy, or at least close to it, and they will also have had the opportunity to review all the communication issues that plagued their recent losses. During the losing streak, on short weeks, they didn’t have the luxury to go into detail.
Tomlin seems to believe they have gotten to the root of some of their biggest problems. As far as the players go, they always seemed to feel it was an on-field issue. To hear the Steelers talk after games, everything seemed fine in practice. Which doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence in Tomlin’s good feelings about the current mood, I might add.
