Flavell's Five Thoughts: The Steelers Are Playoff Bound

Despite the odds, the Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to the postseason.

Cody Flavell | Jan 10, 2022

It doesn’t even seem real. Someway, somehow, the Pittsburgh Steelers snuck into the postseason. The Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts. Despite tying the hapless Detroit Lions earlier in the season, the Steelers’ win over Baltimore got them in.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will, in fact, play a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Trevor Lawrence jerseys for everyone!

T.J. Watt tied the record for sacks in one season. Ben Roethlisberger won his last regular season game. Cam Heyward was able to get to 10 sacks on the season. And, for you bettors, the Steelers cashed the 8.5 win total.

In another ugly performance, the Steelers won just as they have all season long. There is plenty to break down, so let’s get to it.

Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr!

Yes, Ian Eagle. We all feel the same way—a nod to him for one of the best calls of the season.

It was largely seen as Big Ben’s final game of his career. How many people truly thought the Jags were going to dismantle the Colts and give the Steelers the Avenue they need? Not many.

But the script wrote itself, and the Steelers followed Roethlisberger’s lead into one last playoff run. The Chiefs manhandled the Steelers a few weeks ago, so they’ll likely be heavy favorites going into next weekend’s game.

Of course, Roethlisberger’s movie-like script could continue by beating the Chiefs. It will be a tall task, but the Steelers weren’t supposed to be in the playoffs anyway.

Roethlisberger was at his best yet again when the Steelers were down late in the fourth and then again when they needed points at the end of overtime. He finished with 244 yards and a touchdown to go along with an interception he’ll surely want back.

He’ll finish the regular season with 3,740 yards, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He may not have been the Big Ben of old, but no one can doubt his fight and his heart over the course of a season that should’ve ended long ago. Instead, with seven comebacks in the fourth quarter or overtime this year, Roethlisberger helped propel this team into the playoffs one final time.

While their exit could come as early as the first round, he should take some solace in the fact that they even got there in the first place.

McCloud and Claypool Stepped Up Immensely

It’s okay to eat dirt sometimes. I’ve been very critical of both McCloud and Claypool all season long. They made some of the biggest plays on the team Sunday.

McCloud saw his casual mind-numbingly high number of targets in this one with nine. While he only hauled in four of them, his biggest one came on a strike late in the fourth quarter on the Steelers’ scoring drive.

McCloud also had a few solid returns, which was critical in a game where field position came at a premium. He played his best of the season and he needed to with no safety net in James Washington.

Claypool caught a touchdown late in the fourth that put the Steelers ahead on a nice inside crossing pattern. He made a nice move and got into the end zone.

He also had three very crucial end-around runs. His third, a short three-yard gain, was the most important. On third down, seeing that he couldn’t get to the outside, Claypool cut it inside and upfield and fell over the line to gain. It was a massive play at a crucial moment. It was a very mature game for someone who hasn’t shown the most maturity this season.

Good for both of those guys. They’re going to need to be just as good, if not better if Pittsburgh has any chance in the playoffs.

Rush Defense Remains Kryptonite for Defense

The Steelers won. That’s great. They did it in spite of allowing 249 rushing yards. It’s not very often teams give up that many yards on the ground and come out victorious.

Journeyman Latavius Murray ripped off 150 yards on his own 16 carries. Quarterback Tyler Huntley had 72 yards rushing on 12 attempts.

Baltimore has always been a rushing team since Lamar Jackson took the reigns. He’s as electric a runner since Michael Vick was in his prime. His arm has improved marginally since becoming an NFL quarterback, but he’s a run-first guy.

That tactic hasn’t worked against the Steelers as he’s never been good against the Pittsburgh defense. Huntley had success running against the Steelers Sunday, but his team came up short, much like Jackson has more often than not.

The Chiefs are going to throw at will. With Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, it’s inevitable they’ll have success in that department. The Steelers have to try and stop the run at a more effective pace if they plan on having any shot against Kansas City in round one.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s Biggest Play of the Year

Say what you will about Fitzpatrick this season. He’s not getting to the ball and making the interceptions he has in the past but quarterbacks are also staying away from him because they know what he can do.

Where Fitzpatrick has made an impact all season is in the run defense. The Steelers have been gashed in that department all season. However, it seems more often than not that Minkah is making those tackles in the second level of the defense and stopping those would-be touchdowns.

Sunday, he made possibly the biggest defensive play of the season.

With Marquise Brown wide open along the sidelines, Huntley laid a ball into his hands on a toe-tap catch. Fitzpatrick came screaming over and knocked the ball out of his hands in overtime. The yardage gained on the play would’ve surely put Justin Tucker within range for a game-winning field goal. Instead, it allowed the Steelers to get a stop and take the ball back.

Such an incredible play by Fitzpatrick that won’t get enough attention. I’m all for paying him whatever you need to keep him in Pittsburgh and happy. They don’t need to go back to the days of horrible play in the defensive backfield.

Selfishly Putting Mike Tomlin Into Coach of the Year

He’s not going to win it. Mike Vrabel, Zac Taylor, and Matt LaFleur will battle it out. But how is this team even sniffing the playoffs? You don’t do it with a head coach you don’t want to play for.

Spare me the clock management talk. Spare me the “he’s too much of a player’s coach” talk. I don’t care. I see performance on the field and that has a lot to do with a coach.

Never having a losing record in 15 years at the helm of the Steelers is crazy enough. Making the playoffs the last two seasons with an aging quarterback and a long list of deficiencies on the team is impressive. I don’t much care what you’ve got to say on that front.

As I said, this won’t make him Coach of the Year but he deserves a lot of credit for getting them to this point. He’s got his faults like every other head coach in the NFL. It just so happens those deficiencies have netted him exactly zero career losing seasons.

Mike Tomlin is the man.

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