The Pittsburgh Steelers sit at 7-8 on the season, and I, for one, could not have imagined such a scenario that has occurred since the bye week back when the Steelers were 2-6. I was convinced this would be the year: Mike Tomlin's first losing season. The team would have a 2021 San Francisco 49ers type of season, where they had an outlier of a year filled with injuries, got the third overall pick and shot right back up to the top. It was to the point where I started looking at 2023 NFL Draft predictions a full half-year before it even happens!
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 24: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) looks to pass during the national football league game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 24, 2022 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
I'm sure a lot of other Steelers fans were in the same boat. It was all doom and gloom. Admit we suck and move on. Look towards the future. Just build up the rookie quarterback and get the offensive coordinator the hell out of dodge.
But we were proven wrong.
The Steelers get TJ Watt back and rattle off a 5-2 record off the bye, beating the teams they should beat. Kenny Pickett shows that progression fans were looking for out of a first-year quarterback and guides the team back into NFL relevancy. Week 17 approaches, and the Steelers are still in playoff contention getting their game moved to the prime time slot on Sunday night.
It's funny how football works.
Steelers Wins Are Great, But Is It What is Best for the Long-Term?
At the same time, though, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed...
The Steelers are not a playoff team.
They're just not. After years of failed drafting in middle rounds, free agency blunders and unaddressed coaching issues, the team is not a talented enough team to be competing in the 2022 NFL playoffs. The offensive line is still not great (especially on the left side), the run defense is putrid from old talent on the interior defensive line, and there are gaping holes of production at both middle linebacker and corner. Furthermore, as much as we love Pickett and have been encouraged by his growth and development, he is not a playoff ready quarterback.
It is nice to see the Steelers stack up these wins for the veterans on the roster like Cam Heyward, and it has been even more telling how this team has rallied behind constant leadership from Mike Tomlin to get to this point.
Which brings me to my main point: Should we want the Steelers to win out? Should we be following the actions of other teams as intently as we are just because the chance is still there?
Let's be completely honest with ourselves. Say they do somehow get into that 7th seed (again). They'll have to face either the Kansas City Chiefs like last year, the Buffalo Bills who already boat-raced them this year, or the Cincinnati Bengals, who are much improved since Week 1 and Week 11. Chances aren't great.
Now let's say they lose out and things do not fall their way. The team currently sits with the 16th overall pick in next year's draft. At the bye week, they were well in the Top 10 and I was mocking players like Jalen Carter to fall to them. Safe to say that is no longer happening.
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 28: Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh reacts after being selected as the number 20 pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL Draft on April 28, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Losing out and falling to 7-10 would surely get them way closer to a Top 10 pick and maybe even inside the top 10 where they would be almost guaranteed to find a quality player at offensive tackle (Peter Skoronski, Paris Johnson Jr., Broderick Jones), corner (Christian Gonzalez, Cam Smith, Keele Ringo, Joey Porter Jr.) or maybe even interior defensive line if they get lucky (Bryan Breese, Jalen Carter). At 16-20, a lot of those quality star players could already be gone.
What do you think, #SteelerNation? Do you want the Steelers to make the playoffs? Would making the playoffs be worth losing out on a good chance at a quality player to help the team long-term? Let me know in the comments below or @anthonyravasio on Twitter.
