Getty Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his players shared some positive comments even after missing the playoffs on January 8.
Mixed emotions could summarize the feeling around the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room following the team’s 28-14 victory in Week 18. They had just knocked off a division rival, the Cleveland Browns, to complete the franchise’s 18th consecutive non-losing season.
But because of a Miami Dolphins victory, the Steelers still missed the playoffs.
Based on his postgame press conference, it’s safe to say Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin considered that a missed opportunity because his team was gearing up to make some noise in the postseason.
“I think our record indicates that,” Tomlin told the media when asked if his team was on the rise heading into the postseason. “Because that’s all matters. The style point component of play is less significant. You step into stadiums, you win games, you step out of stadiums.
“So, the answer to your question is yes. We were a team on the rise.”
Tomlin didn’t speak much about next season, but Steelers star players were more willing to indicate there is no reason the team can’t still be on the rise heading into 2023.
T.J. Watt Shares Disappointment From Missing Postseason
So many things turned the Steelers’ season midway through after their bye week. But the return of linebacker T.J. Watt was one of the biggest factors.
Watt dealt with multiple ailments during about a two-month absence. But after returning in Week 10, the Steelers defense allowed 16 points or fewer in eight of their last nine games.
The 3-time All-Pro came on particularly strong in December and January. Watt posted 4.0 sacks and 5 tackles for loss in the final five games. The Steelers won four of those five contests.
It ultimately wasn’t enough. The Steelers needed one more win to earn the final AFC Wild Card spot, which left Watt with a feeling, as he described it, of “disappointment.”
“It all happens very fast. I mean, it’s hard to fully understand that we don’t have a game this week,” Watt told the media. “I think it will take a little bit of time to kind of understand and come to terms with it because I feel like we were just starting to play some damn good football.
“But that’s the business. We didn’t get it done this year. There’s a lot of stuff to build on, and we move on.”
Optimism for the Steelers’ Future
It’s not all that surprising that Watt wasn’t all that wild for the consolation prize of a winning season to carry into next year. But other key Steelers players were more positive.
“We can build off this in the season,” linebacker Alex Highsmith told The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. “We know what type of team we are and what type of team we can be. This is momentum, and we have to build on it.”
Highsmith recorded 2.5 sacks in the season finale to finish his breakout season with 14.5 sacks. In his first two seasons, Highsmith had just 8.0 sacks in 32 games.
If Watt can stay fully healthy in 2023, the Steelers could have one of the best pass rushing duos next season. There are other holes for Pittsburgh to fill on defense, but getting back the elite pass rush the team had from 2017-21 would be a big step in the right direction.
The Steelers have reasons to be positive on offense as well.
“I think the way that we finished this season, we should be really proud of ourselves,” running back Najee Harris told Kaboly. “We can see how our future is. We’re young, but we’re also really talented, and I think that for us to come together through all of the adversity we had earlier in the year, especially to finish out the season the way we did.
“It’s motivation for us. We should be hungry for next year.”
Including Harris, the Steelers have starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end all 26 or younger. The team also started the same five offensive linemen all season.
The Steelers can feel badly about missing the playoffs right now, but the 7-2 finish is certainly something to build on for 2023.