In the 2010s, the Pittsburgh Steelers went through a significant shift. Many of their defensive stars retired or left, and offense became their identity. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell became known as the “Killer B’s,” forming one of the best offenses in the league. Despite such talent, that group failed to even appear in a Super Bowl. Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark believes that is a stain on Mike Tomlin’s resumé.
“When I look at the Killer B’s, that’s the one moment I’m like, Coach [Tomlin], he underachieved there,” Clark said Friday on the Football America podcast. “That team had the talent. Jacksonville, as good as they were on defense, they’re not supposed to walk into Pittsburgh [in 2017] and win that game.”
During that era, the Steelers were always a threat to win the Super Bowl. The Killer B’s made the playoffs every year that they were together, only missing them in 2018 when Bell held out for the entire season over unhappiness with his contract situation.
Not all of the obstacles keeping them from a Super Bowl were their fault, though. Injuries held them back in a big way. In 2014, Bell broke out, but he suffered a knee injury in Week 17 that forced him to miss the Steelers’ home playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Bell was suspended to start 2015, and he suffered a season-ending injury in the middle of the year. Still, the Steelers made a run at a championship. They won a playoff game that year, but an injury knocked Brown out of the divisional round. Roethlisberger played hurt that game, and the Steelers lost to the Denver Broncos.
The Steelers made the AFC Championship Game in 2016, but they were no match for the New England Patriots. Arguably their best season together was 2017. That’s the year that Clark referenced.
The Steelers went 13-3, winning the AFC North. The Killer B’s were healthy and playing great. However, the Steelers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Jaguars. What’s even worse is that it was a home game. Everything lined up for the Steelers to make a championship run. Unfortunately, they collapsed at the most important time.
It’s fair to criticize Tomlin’s Steelers for not winning more during that era. However, it’s also important to give him credit for keeping them together for as long as he did. Brown and Bell both imploded outside of Pittsburgh. Tomlin did a good job managing their personalities.
That shouldn’t take away from Tomlin’s other feats, too. During that same podcast, Clark made sure to give Tomlin his flowers as well.
“We hold Mike Tomlin to this higher standard because of where he coaches, because of how quickly he won a championship, I think some of the teams that he’s coached have overachieved,” Clark said. “He’s definitely an extreme ball knower.”
Tomlin should be praised for making some less talented teams competitive. It’s a blessing and a curse. It means the Steelers are usually in the playoff picture, but they’re not willing to commit to a rebuild. Hopefully, if they can assemble a team as talented as the Killer B’s again, Tomlin can finally capture another Super Bowl title.
