The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. From embarrassing losses and egregious miscommunication on defense to George Pickens meltdowns and serious questions regarding coaches and quarterbacks. Pessimistic Steelers fans are saying it’s the same old, same old. Another slightly above-average season leading to an inevitable first-round playoff exit. Rinse and repeat.
Despite their four-game losing streak, the Steelers players are fired up for their Wild Card playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens, and they truly believe in their chances Saturday night despite what the media is saying.
“Let’s go get this one,” CB Donte Jackson said Tuesday after practice via 93.7 The Fan. “This one’s going to change everything. You’re not going to really be worrying about anything that happened or anything that’s coming down the road. Just worry about this one right here. Saturday night, Primetime against a divisional opponent. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Jackson is just hoping to be able to play in Baltimore.
He suffered a back injury in Week 15, and he missed two of the Steelers’ final three regular-season games because of it. His status is in question for Saturday, but he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to suit up against the Ravens as he’s been receiving around-the-clock treatment.
Jackson’s unit — the secondary — has received a lot of criticism for frequent blown coverages and miscommunication toward the end of the season. These are mistakes that NFL teams simply can’t be making this late in the year, and Jackson’s been involved in some of them. But as the saying goes, winning cures everything. Jackson certainly seems to believe that.
The single greatest blemish on coach Mike Tomlin’s resume is his drought without a playoff win dating back to 2016, which includes four playoff losses. He could remedy that with a win over the Steelers bitter division Ravens, who are 10-point favorites.
Would a win immediately solve all of the Steelers long-term issues? No. But it would undoubtedly take the spotlight off the Steelers’ late-season collapse and locker room issues and turn it toward, I’m guessing, Lamar Jackson’s career-long playoff struggles. One playoff win might not change everything for Steelers, after all, this is an organization whose success is defined by Lombardi Trophies.
Even still, let’s hope that Donte Jackson and the Steelers players’ confidence shows up in their performance on Saturday, giving us at least a week to celebrate — and years of bragging rights over the Ravens.
