When the Steelers take the field at Acrisure Stadium on Monday night to take on the Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs, it'll be the first time this team has played a playoff game in front of its own home fans since January 2018.
That last playoff game in front of Pittsburgh fans was the first loss in this streak of eight seasons without a playoff win, as the Steelers fell to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars, 45-42. Monday night is a chance to snap that streak, in the same place it began. However, that's not what Mike Tomlin is thinking about heading into Monday night's game.
"I don't know that we're big-picturing anything right now," Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We've just got a big week ahead of us. We've got big days ahead of us. That's just kind of where we are. That reflective, big-picture stuff is just not realistic as I stand here. When you're in it, I think your perspective is a lot different."
It is a big week. It's not just because it's the playoffs, but it's a matchup against the hottest team in the NFL, as the Texans have won nine straight games. Meanwhile, Tomlin's team is coming off a rollercoaster of a game in which the Steelers narrowly edged out the Ravens, 26-24, to win the AFC North.
It's not been an easy season, whatsoever. After a 4-1 start, the Steelers then went 2-5 from Oct. 16 through Nov. 30, culminating in an embarrassing home loss to the Bills in which the crowd turned on the team, booing Renegade and chanting for Tomlin to lose his job.
Tomlin's team, however, responded to the adversity, winning three straight games in impressive fashion. But adversity struck again. DK Metcalf, the team's No. 1 receiver, was suspended for the final two games of the season after getting into an altercation with a fan in Week 16. The team responded by blowing a golden opportunity to clinch the division against a three-win Browns team, scoring a season-low six points to set up the winner-take-all matchup with the Ravens.
Yet, here the Steelers are. They are the champions of the AFC North with a 10-7 record, hosting a playoff game. How they've responded to adversity is one of the reasons why this team has made it this far:
"We generally have, but we're not patting ourselves on the back for that," Tomlin said. "That is required in this game, particularly at the highest level and doubly so as the road gets narrow. You're certainly not getting into this tournament, you're certainly not gonna be in this tournament long based on talent alone. There has to be some substance. There has to be an intangible quality, a display of individual and collective will. Certainly, we have a collective that's capable of doing that. But as I've mentioned many times, we're not only working at developing that individually and collectively, but it's really the building block of team building for us. We look for good men that love football, that enjoy the process, that enjoy the drudgery, that got great relationships with the game, and I think that aids us in doing so."
Getting to this stage isn't the goal for Tomlin. That's why he can only afford to focus on what it takes to beat the Texans on Monday night, not stop and ponder everything that's transpired this season or the previous seven seasons in which his team failed to win a playoff game.
"I'm certainly not going to unpack my bags on the collective's bed, if you will," Tomlin said.
No need to. And if the collective will Tomlin spoke of shines through on Monday night, he might not have to tote those bags around for much longer.
THE ASYLUM
No big picture for Tomlin
When the Steelers take the field at Acrisure Stadium on Monday night to take on the Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs, it'll be the first time this team has played a playoff game in front of its own home fans since January 2018.
That last playoff game in front of Pittsburgh fans was the first loss in this streak of eight seasons without a playoff win, as the Steelers fell to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars, 45-42. Monday night is a chance to snap that streak, in the same place it began. However, that's not what Mike Tomlin is thinking about heading into Monday night's game.
"I don't know that we're big-picturing anything right now," Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We've just got a big week ahead of us. We've got big days ahead of us. That's just kind of where we are. That reflective, big-picture stuff is just not realistic as I stand here. When you're in it, I think your perspective is a lot different."
It is a big week. It's not just because it's the playoffs, but it's a matchup against the hottest team in the NFL, as the Texans have won nine straight games. Meanwhile, Tomlin's team is coming off a rollercoaster of a game in which the Steelers narrowly edged out the Ravens, 26-24, to win the AFC North.
It's not been an easy season, whatsoever. After a 4-1 start, the Steelers then went 2-5 from Oct. 16 through Nov. 30, culminating in an embarrassing home loss to the Bills in which the crowd turned on the team, booing Renegade and chanting for Tomlin to lose his job.
Tomlin's team, however, responded to the adversity, winning three straight games in impressive fashion. But adversity struck again. DK Metcalf, the team's No. 1 receiver, was suspended for the final two games of the season after getting into an altercation with a fan in Week 16. The team responded by blowing a golden opportunity to clinch the division against a three-win Browns team, scoring a season-low six points to set up the winner-take-all matchup with the Ravens.
Yet, here the Steelers are. They are the champions of the AFC North with a 10-7 record, hosting a playoff game. How they've responded to adversity is one of the reasons why this team has made it this far:
"We generally have, but we're not patting ourselves on the back for that," Tomlin said. "That is required in this game, particularly at the highest level and doubly so as the road gets narrow. You're certainly not getting into this tournament, you're certainly not gonna be in this tournament long based on talent alone. There has to be some substance. There has to be an intangible quality, a display of individual and collective will. Certainly, we have a collective that's capable of doing that. But as I've mentioned many times, we're not only working at developing that individually and collectively, but it's really the building block of team building for us. We look for good men that love football, that enjoy the process, that enjoy the drudgery, that got great relationships with the game, and I think that aids us in doing so."
Getting to this stage isn't the goal for Tomlin. That's why he can only afford to focus on what it takes to beat the Texans on Monday night, not stop and ponder everything that's transpired this season or the previous seven seasons in which his team failed to win a playoff game.
"I'm certainly not going to unpack my bags on the collective's bed, if you will," Tomlin said.
No need to. And if the collective will Tomlin spoke of shines through on Monday night, he might not have to tote those bags around for much longer.
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