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Heading into the Week 9 bye, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked dead in the water. They were losers in six of seven contests heading into the bye. In Week 8, they suffered their second three-touchdown defeat in a four-game span.
So at that time, it seemed like the Steelers were headed for their worst season in decades. Forget the playoffs, it was going to take a miracle for the Steelers to even play meaningful January football.
But the Steelers came out of their bye week a different team, and it’s led to an astonishing second half of the season.
In light of the incredible turnaround, Steelers center Mason Cole couldn’t say enough positive things about head coach Mike Tomlin after Week 17.
“What coach Tomlin has created … it is special, man,” Cole said to the media after the Week 17 victory. “We were 2-6 at the bye week, and we are still here.”
The Steelers received the help they needed January 1 for their Sunday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens to mean something. The 16-13 victory in Baltimore means the Steelers will play another very meaningful game in the season finale versus the Cleveland Browns in Week 18.
Mason Cole Gives Love to Mike Tomlin
It’s a love-hate relationship with Tomlin and the Steelers fan base at this point. There’s a sect of the Steelers that have continuously argued that Tomlin hasn’t won enough championships and playoff games to deserve the amount of praise the media and other fans have sent his way over the years.
When the Steelers started 2022 with a 2-6 record, those fans were growing in mass and getting louder.
But now that the Steelers have won six of their last eight games, the voices defending Tomlin have grown louder again.
Those voices were particularly loud from former players on Twitter after the Steelers beat the Ravens.
Keep firing Tomlin y’all dummies!
Coach Tomlin…
Next Week Mike Tomlin will either have his first losing season or pull off his GREATEST REGULAR SEASON COACHING JOB of his career with the @steelers 2-6 to 8-8 with all the challenges this year has already been IMPRESSIVE.
Cole’s comments about Tomlin should be noteworthy because he’s only in his first season with the Steelers. He has experience with other NFL organizations and head coaches.
In 2020, Cole was a starter for the Arizona Cardinals, who began the season 5-2 but finished 8-8.
Last year, he played for the Minnesota Vikings, who, under Mike Zimmer, went 2-5 in games decided by 4 points or fewer. The Vikings finished 8-9 in 2021.
The Steelers could still end the 2022 season with 8 wins too, but Tomlin’s leadership has been on full display to rally the team behind a rookie quarterback and go 6-2 since the bye week.
Steelers Offensive Line Shines Against Ravens
A lot of credit for Pittsburgh’s turnaround this season should go to Cole and the offensive line.
The Steelers averaged 94.9 rushing yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry before the bye week. Since then, though, they have posted 146 rushing yards per contest and 4.3 yards per rush.
Cole and his four teammates along the offensive line have started every game this season. That unit has really begun to gel recently, and in Baltimore, the Pittsburgh offensive line arguably had its best game of the season.
The Steelers rushed for 198 yards, which is their second most in a game this season. Rookie Kenny Pickett was sacked twice, but he had clean pockets to deliver the ball late in the fourth quarter on the game-winning drive.
That offensive line is still not an elite unit, but it’s come a long way since last year, and the future is bright.
The Steelers will need one more great game from their offensive line in Week 18 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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First-Year Steelers Player Sounds Off on Coach Mike Tomlin