As the saying goes, the hay is in the barn.
The Steelers completed their 2023 regular season with a 17-10 victory over the Ravens in Baltimore. It was their third straight win, and it allowed them to finish at 10-7 that included a 5-1 record within the AFC North (sweeps of Baltimore and Cincinnati), considered the NFL's toughest division this season. This was the 10th time in Mike Tomlin's 17 seasons that he has guided the Steelers to double-digit wins in the regular season, but as the Steelers boarded their charter flight for the trip home to Pittsburgh, they were going to need help to qualify for the playoffs.
They needed help to qualify for the playoffs primarily because of a three-game losing streak at the start of December that included consecutive losses to a pair of 2-10 opponents (Arizona and New England). A simple acknowledgement of the outcomes of those two games makes the case that the 2023 Steelers were a flawed team, which is a fact, but what also is a fact is that this flawed team picked itself up off the mat and ended with three straight wins – including a game in Seattle where the Steelers hadn't won since 1983 and one in Baltimore, where the home team was 6-2 to that point inside M&T Bank Stadium.
There have been attempts to dismiss the 17-10 win over the Ravens as achieved vs. Baltimore's backups. Verifiably correct, but that narrative chooses to ignore the fact the Steelers were starting their third-string quarterback (Mason Rudolph) and relying on a defense including one inside linebacker (Myles Jack) who literally got off his couch to join the team about a month ago, a safety (Eric Rowe) who first set foot in Pittsburgh about a week before Thanksgiving and on top of that was playing hurt vs. the Ravens, another inside linebacker (Mark Robinson) who was a running back until his last year of college football, another safety (Patrick Peterson) who was a cornerback for the first 12-and-three-quarters of his 13 years as a pro, with another inside linebacker (Mykal Walker) who came aboard at Halloween. Trick-or-treat.
"I can't say enough about Eric Rowe on another elevation (from the practice squad)," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "(He) made a significant play on that punch-out (forced fumble). His efforts and Myles Jack's efforts solidified us at some positions where we were really low on manpower. Those two guys have been significant not only today, but over the last three weeks, in terms of what we've done. Obviously, (Mason) Rudolph has done a nice job, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention those two guys as well."
One evaluation of Mason Rudolph's performance can focus on him completing 18-of-20 (a ridiculous 90 percent in weather conditions that had both teams agree at halftime to switch to a backup set of footballs because the first set was so saturated by the steady downpour as to no longer be viable) and finishing with his third straight triple-digit rating (115.0). But there also were glimpses of why Rudolph had attracted no interest last offseason as an unrestricted free agent and decided to return to the Steelers to be their No. 3. He's not mobile (Ravens backup Tyler Huntley scrambled several times for 40 precious yards to aid the cause compared to Rudolph's 10 attempts for 8 yards combined in the last three games), and he has had issues with holding onto the ball too long to give the pass rush time to get home, made worse when 2 of Baltimore's 3 sacks were strip-sacks.
But Rudolph serves as an example of the number of this particular group of Steelers who came from the lower rungs of the depth chart or from out of state and were prepared to play and then contributed to winning regular season games in late December. He is providing the Steelers with their best quarterback play of the season, and arguably the best quarterback play the franchise has had since Ben Roethlisberger walked off into the sunset.
He has been thoughtfully aggressive (each of his three touchdown passes has covered 60-plus yards, and he has 9 completions among his total of 55 that have been good for 20-plus yards). He has no interceptions in 74 attempts, which has allowed the team to be plus-4 in turnover ratio during his three starts.
Not to be taken for granted in the overall success of the offense lately is the physical running attack that has set the tone with 470 yards, 6 touchdowns, and been a major contributor to the 20-plus minute edge in time of possession posted during this three-game winning streak.
Najee Harris (72 carries, 312 yards, 4.3 average, 4 touchdowns) has been looking every bit the No. 1 draft choice he was, both in usage and production. And his style sets the tone for how the Steelers want to play on that side of the ball. The offensive line is handling the opposing defensive front because the starting 5 plus tight end Darnell Washington are winning their individual matchups and doing it largely penalty-free. And that has resulted in opposing defenses having to compromise some coverage schematics to try to stop the bleeding, which in turn has created opportunities for George Pickens (11 catches, 326 yards, 29.6 average, 2 touchdowns) and Diontae Johnson (10 catches, 180 yards, 18.0 average, and a 71-yard touchdown that was the difference against the Ravens).
When combined, the offense's ability to do either results in attrition, first in the physical winning of the matchups, and then morphing into a sense of inevitability for the opponent.
When it all comes together like that, it's a beautiful thing.
As Heyward intimated after the win over the Seahawks, the offense has grown into the kind of factor that's providing a bit of a cushion for a defense that's in need of some reinforcements in the middle of the unit. Minkah Fitzpatrick was inactive for the third straight week, but him graduating to questionable on the status report before the Ravens game, plus Damontae Kazee's suspension ending with the regular season finale, provide hope for the reinforcements possibly being a couple of safeties who had entered the season as starters and were integral to the defense carrying the team to that 6-3 start.
"We're finding ways to win," said Cam Heyward. "Let us be dangerous. We have a formula that's working right now. Hopefully, we can get some guys back in the fold. We're not going to discount ourselves. We know we've got work to do, and we're looking forward to it."
Their playoff percentage rose from the dead during this three-game winning streak, and the Steelers are looking like a tough out for whichever team would host them (probably Miami, Buffalo, or Kansas City) based on Sunday's outcomes. But they also are the ones who put themselves in a spot where they need some things to fall their way during the Jacksonville-Tennessee and Buffalo-Miami games.
In or out, they could know by the time Buffalo at Miami kicks off at 8:20 p.m., or maybe they'll have to sit through that one, too. Either way, it's out of their hands.
