No matter how many of the four remaining games the Pittsburgh Steelers win this season, they will fall short of their 12-4 record a season ago. Yet, if the Steelers do make the playoffs, they may be a more dangerous team.
After six seasons, coach Mike Tomlin is still seeking his first road playoff victory. To his credit, the Steelers have had home field advantage in five of their six playoff games with Tomlin at the helm. But the loss to the Denver Broncos in Mile High Stadium a year ago seemed to culminate the 2011 season where the Steelers struggled on the road.
The season started with a 35-7 blowout at the hands of the Ravens. It ended with an 80 yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow. In between were a pair of 13-9 road wins against the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs and a 23-20 nail biter against the last place Indianapolis Colts. Against good competition the Steelers were dominated, losing to the aforementioned Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers.
This season, things have changed. While the Steelers have had disappointing (and frankly, inexcusable) road losses to Oakland, Tennessee, and Cleveland, they’ve had signature wins against the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens; each game providing more than enough drama for an entire season. Not only did the Steelers play on the road against two of the best teams in the league, but they had to deal with elements foreign to most road teams.
Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, the Steelers had to fly to New Jersey the morning of the game instead of staying at a hotel and traveling a few blocks via bus. While a flight from Pittsburgh to New Jersey couldn’t have taken longer than an hour, the added stress of getting to the airport, going through security, sitting on a plane for approximately two hours, getting luggage and thinking about a football game had to take somewhat of a toll on the team. Yet, the Steelers were able to overcome a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit and win 24-20.
Last Sunday, the Steelers were facing a team that hadn’t lost a home game in over two years. To make matters worse, they had to start a third string quarterback, backup linebacker, and rookie right tackle. As we saw a few days ago, it didn’t matter. The Steelers scored ten points in the final ten minutes of the game to keep themselves in the playoff chase.
This has been an up and down year for Pittsburgh, to say the least. They certainly don’t look like the same dominant team from 2009 but it takes a certain type of group to overcome some of the adversity they’ve faced so far. It’s the same type of team that produced the Steelers’ fifth Super Bowl six years ago, as well as the last two Super Bowl victories for the New York Giants. Can the Steelers mirror their success from 2006? It’s too early to say but this team absolutely possesses the talent and veteran leadership to become road warriors in 2012.
Photo courtesy of NY Daily News
