If you listen to talk radio and read some of the analysis after a typical Steelers game, you would have no idea if the Steelers won or lost the game.
Oh, there are some times when the Steelers get smoked — like against the Texans or 49ers this season — when it is very easy to tell, but most weeks the Steelers in recent years have played in close, nail-biter type games.
The thing is, win or lose, we all seem to focus on style points and pick apart everything that didn’t go the Steelers’ way or that they didn’t do well.
I have to laugh, however, because we are all probably missing the big picture, and that is the Steelers win a lot more than they lose those games of late.
Style points don’t matter. Winning and losing is what matters, and the Steelers are 11-4 in their last 15 games dating back to last season. And yes, they have beat a who’s who of the NFL’s average and/or bad teams, but they manage to win and that’s all that really matters.
It is almost like the Steelers’ lack of playoff success over the past half-decade has made people forget that you have to win enough games during the regular season to get to the playoffs.
I think one of the most overrated streaks is Mike Tomlin’s “never had a losing season” and mostly because I don’t see much of a difference between a 7-9 season or an 8-8 season. Tomlin had a few seasons where he escaped with a win or two to get to 8-8, but I don’t think it would change his resume if he had a 7-9 on it.
It just isn’t that relevant in the grand scheme of things because winning playoff games and winning in the playoffs is how he is and will be judged.
That being said, it does speak to the fact that he has built a culture of winning in his locker room. It speaks to the fact that he coaches every single game with the knowledge that winning them is extremely important.
It is clear the Steelers are right in the mix with about 15-16 other teams in terms of talent, but the difference is the Steelers under Tomlin know how to win games. And not only that, they value winning games.
Sunday was more of the same — the Steelers looked horrible for three quarters against the Rams. At one point late in the third quarter, they had 98 total yards of offense. It was an ugly, awful brand of offensive — pun intended — football.
But they made enough plays on defense, and they got a huge play from T.J. Watt to set up an easy touchdown to stay in the game. And yes, they were a little bit lucky as Rams kicker Brett Maher had a case of the shanks and missed two field goals and an extra point.
And yes, they were lucky against the Ravens when their receivers played like they were Edward Scissorhands and kept dropping passes. And yes, they were lucky that Kevin Stefanski for some reason kept letting Deshaun Watson drop back to pass despite the fact he had a rookie turnstile playing left tackle.
But that’s just it — the Steelers make those plays and these other teams largely don’t. When the Steelers have a chance to get three points, Chris Boswell doesn’t miss (or very rarely misses). When the Steelers need a big play in a big spot, the receivers rarely drop the ball.
Winning is not an accident. And while there is an element of luck from time to time, teams that win 11 of 15 games aren’t doing it because they are lucky. They are doing it because they have the combination of talent and mental toughness to figure out how to win games.
It is true that some of the Steelers’ opponents are bad and the Steelers should beat them. But we see upsets every week, and despite all of the talk of the “Tomlin stinker game,” the reality is the Steelers under Tomlin in general beat bad teams regularly.
They do need to improve in some key areas if they want to get into the playoffs and win. That shouldn’t be a surprise, however, because this is a team that is developing and a work in progress.
The quarterback is in the second year, the top receiver is in his second year, there are some new pieces to the offensive line, and the defense was rebuilt up the middle.
We knew it was going to take a little time to come together, but in the meantime they just keep finding ways to win. And I am fully convinced that is just a part of their DNA and who they are, which is why teams that are going to beat them better blow them out early and not let them hang around.
Forget style points; the Steelers just win, and that should be good enough for now.
