There might be one aspect of December football that's more important than a quarterback who's "gifted with hands that can handle a cold ball," as Aaron Rodgers said of himself after his impressive performance in the Steelers' win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
And that's depth.
"It comes with this time of year," said Mike Tomlin at his weekly Tuesday press conference. "There's an attrition element to our game and that's why we take everyone's readiness very seriously."
Tomlin came up with a new expression for it, one more fresh than his time-honored "One man's misfortune is another man's opportunity."
"I'll never ask guys to be patient," Tomlin said. "I'll ask them to work while they wait, and a lot of guys have done that."
Rodgers called many of those key role players in the Monday night win "castoffs." Tomlin talked about those and others who've been developed by the Steelers' coaching staff:
* Dylan Cook – The Steelers' fourth left tackle since Broderick Jones went down with a neck injury Nov. 23 against the Bears, Cook replaced Andrus Peat during last week's win over the Ravens for his first NFL action, and then started his first NFL game Monday night. He'd been on the Steelers' practice squad the last three years, and against Miami didn't allow Miami's sack and QB-hits leader Bradley Chubb to so much as touch Rodgers.
"Can't say enough about Dylan and what he was able to do for us at left tackle," Tomlin said. "He did a nice job of representing himself last night. As I mentioned, though, we helped him schematically, but it is our job to do so. But he was a component of a successful, winning outing, and so he deserves congratulations for that."
* Kenneth Gainwell – Might not be a better surname for a running back, and last night Kenny did gain well, with 126 yards of total offense (80 rushing, 46 receiving). Rodgers raved about Gainwell after the game. Tomlin did so the next day.
"Kenny Gainwell did an awesome job, like he always does when called upon in an expanded role," Tomlin said. "Kenny made some significant plays in that game against us (last year), converting third downs early in that game that produced scoring drives. I think he converted 3 third downs that transferred to 17 points in the midst of that game. He also covered kicks in that game we played against him. He returns kicks. What we saw was a guy who was a football player first, that had a nice skill set to do a lot of things, and had some upside because of the ridiculous shadow that Saquon (Barkley) cast. So, I don't know that any of us are surprised by what he's doing or by what he's capable of, because we saw it firsthand in-stadium as an opponent."
(A nugget on Gainwell fromNextGenStats: He gained 72 of his 80 rushing yards on 6 carries between the center and right tackle.)
* Asante Samuel Jr. – Filling in for injured cornerback James Pierre, who had overtaken Darius Slay on Nov. 16, Samuel Jr. started his first game since Sept. 29, 2024, and intercepted a pass in the first quarter Monday night. Tomlin wasn't worried about his conditioning.
"He's the type of guy that's in shape 12 months a year. Most corners are," Tomlin said. "He displayed that in the short period of time that he's been here in practice settings, in terms of taking card defensive reps and taking defensive reps. It was of very little concern to me or to us in terms of his participation last night. And not only that, but he's been an every-down player when he was in L.A., and so it wasn't something that was the first time for him or something that was foreign to him."
* Nick Herbig/Jack Sawyer – As Tomlin pointed out, no one is surprised by anything Herbig does, but replacing injured T.J. Watt (and the 1-11 record the Steelers had previous to last night when he sat out games) is certainly a tall task. Sawyer, a rookie, played 28 snaps to Herbig's 26 because Herbig injured his hamstring. Sawyer also had 17 snaps on special teams and made two tackles covering kicks.
"Jack is doing what a lot of young, quality defenders do: They make the best with what you ask them to do, and they work in all areas and get better," Tomlin said. "Usually those that are playmakers on special teams eventually become playmakers on defense, and he's certainly been that for us. He's made some plays on teams. He made some plays on teams last night. And so, I'm never surprised when they transfer that playmaking to the defensive side when they get more opportunities to do so. He's had some opportunities this year, has made some plays, has had a sack, has had an interception, and so I wouldn't be surprised if he displays that readiness if he gets an expanded role opportunity this week."
* Tight ends – For the first time in NFL history, two different tight ends scored running touchdowns for the same team in a game (Connor Heyward, Jonnu Smith), and if one looks closely at each play, a third tight end, Darnell Washington, figured prominently in the blocking. And, of course, Pat Freiermuth led all Steelers tight ends with 45 receiving yards.
"We've got a deep and diverse tight end group," Tomlin said. "Darnell is a point-of-attack run blocker. Jonnu's good run-after. You saw that in a lot of ways. We threw him a screen, we pitched him a toss. Muth is his own killer. You saw that last night. And Connor is a jack of all trades. He's a four-phase special-teamer. He does things like that for us. And so, I think that's just more reflective of the deep and diverse group that we have at that position."
* "No. 2" wide receivers -- Marquez Valdes-Scantling made his first reception with the Steelers a big one. It was his 14th career TD catch from Rodgers, his former teammate in Green Bay. "MVS" was signed to the active roster on Monday from the practice squad. Another newcomer, Adam Thielen, caught only a single pass, but made a key block on Smith's TD run around right end. Ben Skowronek, playing with a cast on his hand, made a pair of tackles on special teams.
"(MVS) certainly is a talented guy. He can run. For a taller guy, he can get in and out of break points. And he's got some NFL playmaking experience that's been an asset to us," Tomlin said. "(Skowronek) is a football player first. He's highly productive. He's a functional tackler. He's a big guy for the space that he plays in. It gives him a matchup advantage, particularly when he's in one-on-one circumstances. ... (Thielen)'s excited to be here. He's expressed that. He's a hand-in-the-pile guy. I thought he was very active in the run game last night, for example. You know, you have a lot of ways to impact the game rather than touching the football, and, certainly, his contributions have displayed that in a short period of time."
With injuries to Herbig and Isaac Seumalo last night, the depth could continue with players such as Sawyer, Spencer Anderson, and Ryan McCollum, among others.
"We have to call on that again moving forward. Everyone does," Tomlin said. "And so, it's important that you fortify your depth with capable people. We work to do that during the course of our journey, and to continue to get those guys ready, because you know it's coming. It's just good to see some of that happen. We certainly will have some more challenges as we lean in on this week."
