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Welcome to the BTSC Pittsburgh Steelers ‘Think Tank’. Here is where there will be a general question asked, and the answer will be hashed out in the comment section below the article. Unlike in the Friday Night Six Pack, and other articles which are banking on fan responses, this is just one topic to discuss.
Today’s think tank question revolves around the outcome of the 2019 regular season. Let’s be honest, when the Steelers started the season 0-3, and 1-4, it became obvious expectations changed.
Fans were worried about not having a first round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after trading that pick to the Miami Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Playoffs weren’t even discussed, but merely being able to win a few games without Ben Roethlisberger was the common topic of conversation.
Yet, here we are. Staring at a Steelers team who has won 7 of their last 8 games, is 8-5 and on the verge of making the AFC Playoffs as a Wild Card team. Yeah, no one saw this coming.
This season has had some magic to it. The Fitzpatrick trade, the coming out party for players like James Washington and Diontae Johnson, Mason Rudolph giving way to Devlin Hodges and the Duck Dynasty. A defense who has been so opportunistic you can almost feel when a takeaway is coming.
All of it has been intriguing, to say the least. But what if this magical season ends without the fairy tale ending? What if the Steelers stumble down the stretch and don’t make the playoffs? Would it change your view of the season?
We’ll come back to that. Let’s take a look at the final three games for the Steelers:
vs. the Buffalo Bills (SNF)
at the New York Jets
at the Baltimore Ravens
Not an easy stretch of games, but if the Steelers can win two of those three it seems as if they have a legitimate shot of punching their ticket to the postseason dance.
It is easy to get caught up in all the playoff hype, but it is a worthwhile practice to think back to your feelings when the team was 1-4, coming off an overtime loss to the Ravens at Heinz Field, and thinking all was lost.
But all is not lost, at least not now. This season has gone from dreadful to magical, and it has been a joy to watch. If the Steelers’ magic runs out, will it change your view of the season? Can we really play the result like that and forget about the wild and crazy journey this team has taken to get to this point?
This is a tough question to answer, but is the main topic of discussion for this week’s ‘Think Tank’ article. Let us know what you think about this topic in the comment section below!