Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy is proud of how his team managed a gauntlet of a three-game stretch, from Tampa to Paris to a smash-mouth divisional clash after an overseas trip.
He's excited to get back to work this week in Pittsburgh, beginning with "self-improvement Tuesday" for the players, but was just as thrilled for his team to take some time off and re-charge for a crucial second half.
"It was important for the players to get away, both personally and professionally. I'm hoping they had a good break," McCarthy said Monday in his weekly press conference. "But getting them activated to the schedule, getting everybody back in-tune with moving forward, you have to be careful coming off a bye week. We'll do that tomorrow and Wednesday, and then we'll get into a full week of prep for Cincinnati."
The Steelers (6-2) travel to the Bengals (6-2) for a Sunday night AFC North matchup at Paycor Stadium. Both teams are on four-game winning streaks that began two weeks after the Steelers won the first meeting, 30-27, at Acrisure Stadium.
But now it's the Bengals who are coming off an international voyage, having beaten the Falcons, 34-17, Sunday in Madrid. McCarthy isn't focused on any sort of rest advantage as much as he is where his own group can make strides as they gear up for what's to come.
"We know where we are and I know who we are, and we're a team that can continue to improve, and that's exciting," McCarthy said. "We've got areas of improvement. We've got younger players that are starting. Hey, it's November. They're starting to show some really good signs. We have younger players that have played some good football, but I think our vets have done a really good job of keeping our eye on the target and pushing this thing forward."
After all, the Steelers' off week leads into another arduous three-game challenge. They have back-to-back road games against the Bengals and Eagles, then return home for a short week to face Denver the Friday after Thanksgiving.
McCarthy likes to divvy up the 17-game slate into segments, from an organizational perspective as well as a human one. The specifics might change, from quarters to trimesters depending on how the schedule is laid out, but the goal remains the same. Take it one game at a time, while knowing the overall rhythm of the season.
"I think it's important as the head coach to give a clear vision of the expectations every single day," McCarthy said. "That starts with the schedule, and then the details of the schedule, what's expected from everybody involved."
One aspect of the calendar McCarthy said he isn't spending much time on is Tuesday's 4 p.m. trade deadline. He trusts that general manager Omar Khan and the Steelers front office will do their "due diligence" when it comes to any potential moves.
They're the ones who are dialed into which players are available around the league, what it might take to acquire an asset that can help the franchise and assessing value at this juncture of the season. McCarthy is locked in on the Bengals with his coaching staff.
"I spent a decade in my life as a head coach when I didn't even know when the trade deadline was," McCarthy smiled. "I just knew it was somewhere around the middle of the season. Yeah, it's part of it. It's different. I get it, everybody wants to improve their roster. I have great confidence in Omar and Art [Rooney II], if there's something there, that we'll do the right thing.
"But I think it's very important for me, as the head coach, to keep my eye on the target. … If we had someone that's going to help us win, I think everybody would be for that. It's about winning. We know how fast these seasons go. Every NFL season, it's like a runaway train. And we're on it, because we're 6-2, but we're trying to get to the front.
"I worry about the ones that are here, coach the ones that are here, and keep building what we've got going. We have a lot of positive energy going right now, and we've got a big-time game, Sunday Night Football in Cincinnati. It's going to be a great atmosphere, and we've got a chance to sweep the Bengals."
