Down the stretch, the Steelers were hot. Their rookie passer, Kenny Pickett, was picking up his play and making big plays in the fourth quarter to win games. Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and the offensive line became a wrecking crew to be feared on the ground. Harris, in particular, found another level of play in his many angry runs for extra yardage. The defense, led by stars T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and MVP All Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick, was finally resembling the $108 million unit it was billed to be back at the beginning of the season. The result was a furious, often exhilarating 7-2 finish after a morbid, moribund 6-2 start. Predictably, a re-energized, rejuvenated Steelers Nation is fully expecting their favorite football team to simply pick up where they left off come the 2023 season. The question is, can they? We deliver the surprising Steelers answers in this early off-season edition of your Steelers Update Podcast. And be sure to check out my full column on PennLive. It’s packed with plenty of memes bringing all these rising 2023 expectations across Steelers Nation to life.

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