Mike Tomlin's windshield is always bigger than his rearview mirror, so it's been easy for him to look ahead to the winner-take-all showdown with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
That's why he greeted the Pittsburgh media with "Welcome to AFC North Championship Week" at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
The Steelers and the Ravens will play for the AFC North Division championship Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium. If the teams finish in a tie, the Steelers win the t-shirts and hats and earn the right to host a Wild Card playoff game the following weekend.
Tomlin is also optimistic that he's welcoming back T.J. Watt, who's missed the last three games with a partially collapsed lung.
Tomlin said he's "optimistic about (Watt's) potential inclusion in this game. We'll work him up throughout the course of week and let the amount of participation and the quality of participation be our guide in terms of whether or not he's a participant. But (I'm) certainly more optimistic this week than I have been in previous weeks."
Watt returned to practice last week but didn't play in Cleveland. He was missed in a 13-6 loss, a game in which the Steelers "didn't make enough significant plays," according to Tomlin.
"I thought we had one, two minutes or so before halftime," Tomlin recalled. "(Nick) Herbig had his hands on the ball in our left flat, and he certainly had an opportunity to run it back had he caught it. I think those are the type of plays that really kind of break games like that open, and when you get them, you have an opportunity to move on and find your rhythm and do what's required to win, and when they don't, it's obviously more tough sledding, and it certainly was that for us."
While the defense came close, with Herbig's near interception and Jack Sawyer's interception return deep into Cleveland territory, the offense made only two significant plays, both 29-yarders.
One was a run by Connor Heyward and the other was a pass down the middle from Aaron Rodgers to tight end Pat Freiermuth. Neither play led to touchdowns.
The Steelers were without receiver DK Metcalf in the game after being suspended by the NFL. Without Metcalf against the Browns, the Steelers' wide receivers combined for only 60 yards of offense.
With Metcalf in the previous game against the Ravens, he alone caught 7 passes for 148 yards. On the Steelers' first offensive play, he hauled in a 52-yard pass from Rodgers that set up a Steelers touchdown and sent them on their way to a 27-22 win.
Tomlin said the Ravens are currently playing less man-to-man coverage, but, "If they give us one-on-one playmaking opportunities, we've got to make those plays. And we've got to put guys in a position to do so. We've got very capable men."
"Oftentimes," Tomlin continued, "I say there's a fine line between being a Pro Bowler and a backup. We're at the top of the food chain in terms of the football world, and so it's a reasonable expectation from my perspective, particularly with an additional week to prepare, that we put together a thoughtful plan and that we position our guys to take advantage of opportunities, and if and when they do present themselves that we make the plays."
In spite of the win in Baltimore on Dec. 7, the Steelers were outrushed by the Ravens, 217-34. In the two teams' previous meeting, in the 2024 playoffs, the Steelers were outrushed by the Ravens, 299-50.
Derrick Henry rushed for 186 in the playoff game and 94 on Dec. 7.
"I certainly feel better positioned in 2025 to deal with it than I did in 2024," Tomlin said.
When asked why, Tomlin pointed to the availability of the Steelers' first-round pick in the 2025 draft, the defensive tackle who missed the Dec. 7 game with an injury.
"Derrick Harmon is back," Tomlin said. "I think that's significant, or at least the significance of his presence has been well-documented. We'll see.
"But I don't know that we're doing anything dramatically different. We're stacking the box when appropriate and making judgments about when that is and when that isn't."
The Ravens have their own injury concerns, particularly at quarterback where Tyler Huntley replaced Lamar Jackson last week.
Jackson, who's struggled through injuries all season, missed last week's game with a back contusion. His status is unknown early this week in Baltimore.
The Ravens have won both games this season in which Huntley has started.
"There are certainly some things that are exclusive to Lamar, and that's not taking anything away from Huntley," Tomlin said. "It's just certain things that are Lamar and no other human on the planet. I think they play to a certain personality, regardless of who's at quarterback, and I think that that was on display a week ago. I think they're experienced in playing with Huntley. They know how to play with him schematically, and certainly he knows how to play and has logged some significant reps over his years there. ... Although it is potentially a backup-quarterback circumstance, I think there's some real fluidity there from their perspective. And to be quite honest with you, when things get thick, they play a certain way, regardless of who's playing quarterback."
The Steelers are 20-5 in regular-season finales since 2000, 11-1 at home.
They are 10-1 in regular-season finales at home against division opponents.
"It is an honor man to be in these games, to be in these hotly contested matchups," Tomlin said. "Seems like Baltimore is always a dance partner. I certainly am respectful and appreciative of that relationship and some of the historic things we've been able to do when these two teams have come together. This appears to be one of those weekends. It's humbling and an honor to be a component of it, but to be a component of it is just that. Our job is to win."
