Steelers Central

What was supposed to be an episode looking at the Steelers HC options that were seemingly lining up in their favor, turned into a head-scratching rant on the Mike McCarthy hire. Instead of going young and innovative, the Steelers went old and predictable. Art Rooney is keeping the status of mediocrity and being in the mushy middle alive as he refuses to sacrifice one year for a high draft cycle. This is the worst outcome for this organizations, and the worst hire of this HC cycle.

In a wild week of Steelers news, the Steelers will do something they haven't done in 19 years: find a new head coach. This comes after the team's 30-6 defeat on Monday night against the Texans, becoming the nail in the coffin for Tomlin to step down.

This episode we'll break down the legacy of Mike Tomlin, his 19-year tenure, what went wrong down the stretch run if his career, and why I thought they were five years too late in letting Tomlin keep his job.

Next, it's time to look back at what went wrong in the Divisional Round game, and what went wrong to give Tomlin his seventh straight playoff loss to tie Marvin Lewis for longest all time. Despite getting three TOs and multiple short field opportunities, the Steelers scored just six points and had under 200 total yards. This game was close for a majority of the game until things broke down late in the 4th quarter.

There weren't many bright spots aside from Joey Porter Jr. and Corliss Waitman pinning the Texans inside the 20 four times, but plenty of pitfalls including 3rd downs, run defense, OT play, Brandon Echols, and Arthur Smith.

At Art Rooney's press conference, we saw that not even Rooney saw Tomlin stepping down as an option. He was prepared to even give Tomlin another shot. Instead, the Steelers will look for another captivating personality to lead the team like their three previous HCs. The HC will also have full control over roster-building and coaching staff, which is really telling and shows you how much control Tomlin had as well.

Lastly, we'll look at some of the names that Pittsburgh has mentioned so far with seven candidates on the board.

0:00-16:24 Tomlin Stepping Down

16:25-30:50 Steelers vs Texans Game Recap

30:51-44:54 Art Rooney's Presser

44:55-53:05 Steelers HC Candidates

On this episode of Steelers Central, it's time to preview the Steelers' Wild matchup vs. the Texans to cap off the first weekend of playoff football. This game will be a defensive, low-scoring slugfest where points will be a premium. The keys to deciding this game will be turnovers and the play of both teams in the trenches to control the clock.

Speaking of the trenches, the Steelers OTs vs the Texans EDGEs will be the biggest matchup of the game. If the Steelers want to avoid this, they will need to win on the interior against the Texans' DTs. For the Texans, despite not allowing sacks, they rank 30th in pass block win rate, and face the 6th-ranked defense in sacks, and have seven players with over three sacks. They must give Stroud time to throw, as they are not a running football team. Nico Collins and JPJ will be a matchup to watch all game long, as the last time these two faced off, Collins had 168 yards and two TDs, although Porter Jr. was not a starter.

The results of this game hinge on all of those matchups above, as well as some unfortunate streaks and results for both teams. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016, but have won 23 straight home MNF games. The Texans have never won a road playoff game, and dome teams are 1-14 in games where the kickoff temperature is below 40 degrees, but they have won nine straight games. I'll tell you which team's streaks will end and why.

If the Steelers do lose, just how much danger is Mike Tomlin's job in? Spoiler, he'll be the HC for at least next season, but I will tell you my reasoning on why next year could be his last.

0:00-11:52 Steelers vs Texans: Keys to the Game

11:53-26:53 Steelers vs Texans: Matchups to Watch

26:54-33:25 Steelers Game Prediction

33:26-44:49 Mike Tomlin's Job Safety

We're back with another episode of Steelers Central, talking about the rollercoaster of a win for the Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch the AFC North and give the Steelers their first division title since 2020. We'll break down how the game went from 23 combined points in the first three quarters to 27 points in the last 10 minutes of a game that included a missed XP and a missed go-ahead FG.

For Pittsburgh, key contributors to their victories included Aaron Rodgers and Cam Heyward turning back the clock, Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren running hard, and Calvin Austin and Pat Friermuth making explosive plays in the passing game. On the other side, a Chris Boswell missed kick, a couple of sloppy plays from Jalen Ramsey, and an Alex Highsmith and Keeanu Benton missed sack from going home.

0:00-19:57 Steelers vs Ravens Breakdown/Reaction

19:58-36:41 Steelers vs Ravens Winners and Losers

From punching fans to a lateral TD and finally an OPI call that negated the TD, it was a wild outing in Detroit, resulting in the Steelers' 29-24 victory over the Lions. The Steelers and Mike Tomlin showed the world that they can beat a good team in December, and shut down the fifth-best run game in the NFL, holding them to under 30 rushing yards while rushing for over 200 themselves. I'll explain why this is such a momentous victory, and whether this is a serious team moving forward into the playoffs.

The RBs and the offensive and defensive lines were why the Steelers were able to control this game handily, while Aaron Rodgers and JPJ's contributions allowed them to close it out. DK Metcalf punching a fan, Darnell Washington's untimely gaffe, and Asante Samuel Jr. getting burnt also kept this game closer than it needed to be. Check out this episode to see who else were winners and losers in the Steelers' victory against the Lions.

0:00-23:20 Steelers vs Lions Reaction

23:21-41:07 Steelers vs Lions: Winners and Losers

On this episode of Steelers Central, two banged-up squads clash in a battle for playoff positioning. The Lions will be looking for their first win against Pittsburgh since 1998, when Charlie Batch was the QB in a 19-16 Thanksgiving Day victory. This will be a battle of wills between two teams who look to control the LOS. The Lions will attempt to dominate with Gibbs and Montgomery, while the Steelers counter with Derrick Harmon's return to the lineup. On the other hand, the Steelers must exploit a secondary that could be missing both of its starting safeties and its star corner, given their limited array of weapons. Also, I'll explain why getting to Jared Goff in this game is a must.

On the matchup side of things, Jahmyr Gibbs is a must shut down for the Steelers' ILBs. In his last six games, he has alternated between three-TD games and zero-TD games. In wins this season, he has averaged 102 RY; in losses, 42 RY. The Steelers must tackle him well in space, or he will gash them. In the trenches, Fautanu and Cook vs Hitch and Muhammad will be a must-watch on the outside with Lions DT Alim McNeill out. Amon-Ra and Jameson Williams vs. this secondary will also determine the Lions' success, as Brown will see a high number of targets and Jame-O will try to spread the field against a Steelers defense that has had recent success in the secondary. Tune in to see what other matchups will determine this game's outcome.

As for the outcome of this game, I don't see any way the Steelers come out of this game as winners. While I do see this game being close, I don't see the Steelers having enough firepower to overcome the Lions.

0:00-15:18 Steelers vs Lions: Keys to Victory

15:19-37:53 Steelers vs. Lions: Matchups to Watch

37:54-41:54 Steelers vs Lions Gametime Predictions

The Steelers finally shook the monkey off their back. They won their first primetime game in over a year, ironically, since their last home MNF win in October of 2024 against the New York Giants, making it 23 straight wins at home on MNF in convincing fashion despite the 28-15 score. It took a while for the Steelers offense to get going, but when they got going, they could not be stopped, scoring four straight TDS, surpassing their number from last year with three games left to play, outsnapping their opponent for the first time this season, and controlling TOP with their dominant run game. Aaron completed the highest percentage of his passes in his career with 85%.

Aaron was undoubtedly one of the Steelers' winners of this game, along with key contributions from Kenneth Gainwell and DK Metcalf on the offensive side of the ball, and Patrick Queen and Asante Samuel, who recorded his first Steelers INT on the defensive side of the ball.

0:00-18:37 Steelers vs Dolphins Breakdown

18:38-32:27 Steelers vs Dolphins Winners and Losers

On this episode of Steelers Central, it's time to look at which playoff-pushing team will prevail, the team that is 1-11 without T.J. Watt or the QB that is 1-7 when playing in games under 46 degrees. In typical Steelers fashion, the team that controls the LOS, stops the run, and runs the ball well will win this game.

The Steelers must stop the Dolphins' Jumbo packages with their banged-up defensive line and their lethal run game featuring DeVon Achane, which has been among the best in the NFL over the last four games. The Steelers, on the other hand, hope to get Mount Washington back to bolster their run game that has struggled in recent weeks, totaling only 34 yards last week. Pittsburgh must also disguise its defense and disrupt Tua Tagovailoa in a passing offense predicated on speed and deception, not on attacking deep. Hopefully, resulting in some turnovers. Lastly, I'll explain why Keeanu Benton must hold up against arguably the league's best center in Aaron Brewer, and what will happen if he doesn't. Aaron Rodgers must also watch out for Minkah Fitzpatrick on the backend, who has had a bounce-back year since leaving Pittsburgh, playing more in the nickel role and given more opportunities to disrupt plays by being near the ball.

Despite missing T.J. Watt, here is my reason the Steelers will win this game to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North: resurrecting the run game, improving run defense, and getting to Tua in the cold.

0:00-13:21 Steelers vs Dolphins: Keys to the Game

13:22-35:23 Steelers vs Dolphins: Matchups to Watch

35:24-39:21 Game Predictions

When Mike Tomlin's back is against the wall, his team always comes out with a victory. I wish it was like that every week, but this victory should not absolve him from the hot seat. This team still has plenty of holes, and like still being ran all over by the Ravens, who had over 200 total rushing yards. The good thing was Aaron Rodgers had a vintage Rodgers performance, DK Metcalf balled out after some lousy performances, and the defense did enough to make Baltimore settle for three instead of 7.

Pittsburgh was aided by strong performances from Metcalf, Rodgers, great pass blocking, James Pierre, Brandon Echols, and Carson Bruener, while run offense and defense, and Joey Porter Jr.'s penalties left more to be desired.

0:00-21:45 Steelers vs Ravens takeaways

21:46-36:39 Winners and Losers

The Steelers yet again lost to an above-average QB, 31-28, as the team failed to put together a late-game drive to win despite apparent deficiencies on both sides of the ball. I was wrong in saying that Mason Rudolph should start this game in place of Aaron Rodgers due to his wrist injury. Rudolph struggled to find open receivers, made poor decisions with the ball, and took some sacks. The defense struggled to generate pressure and defend the middle of the field, and it appears to have an outdated scheme.

There were few bright spots outside of the RB room, and T.J. Watt's forced fumble, but a lot of dull spots with MOF usage on both sides of the ball, Mason Rudolph, the pass rush, and Kyle Dugger. We'll see how Pittsburgh responds next week against the Bills.

0:00-22:50 Steelers vs. Bears: Analysis

22:51-36:03 Steelers vs. Bears: Winners and Losers