I had an idea for a Steelers article rolling around in my head for weeks that I never got around to writing.

The idea was this: The preseason was the most exciting part of the Steelers’ 2023 campaign. You remember the preseason, right? It was filled with so much hope and promise. It was also full of decent and fun offense, at least by the first team. That was okay, though, because the starters were going to do most of the heavy lifting for Pittsburgh’s offense once the 2023 regular season began.

Kenny Pickett, the second-year quarterback from the University of Pittsburgh, the man who displayed moxie, grit, courage and a clutch gene during his rookie year, looked poised to add actual tangible evidence to the idea of him becoming the almost immediate heir-apparent to the recently-retired Ben Roethlisberger. Pickett led his offense to five touchdowns in as many drives during the three-game preseason. He seemed poised. He seemed confident. He seemed like he knew just what to do on every pass play. Not only that, but Pickett was hella accurate on just about every pass that he threw (and that’s not exactly hyperbole, either).

Furthermore, what about the depth on defense? Wow, talk about some great depth. Thank you, Omar Khan, the second-year general manager who spent his first full offseason on the job, cooking, eating and Khanning other general managers into making deals that benefited the Steelers.

The trades. The free-agent signings. That draft, wow, what a draft. Like Pickett, they all had starring roles in August football.

I was just so excited following the Steelers 3-0 preseason. I couldn’t wait for the regular-season opener vs. the 49ers at Acrisure Stadium on September 10.

Then, the regular season began, and it didn’t take long for that “blah” feeling to return. That feeling had been with me for a while, especially since the end of the 2020 campaign.

The Steelers just weren’t a fun team to watch, nor did they seem very good, as evidenced by the 30-7 shellacking at the hands of an NFC juggernaut.

The Steelers managed to scratch and claw their way to a 7-4 record through 11 games and were in prime position to make the playoffs, but they still weren’t exciting. They didn’t offer up much of a reason to care about them in any way, other than they were the hometown football team. Sadly, despite Pittsburgh’s 7-4 start, the most satisfying part of the Steelers 2023 regular season was the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada on November 21.

It was all going to be different without Canada. The Steelers were going to knock off the Cardinals and Patriots–both 2-10–at Acrisure Stadium before perhaps clinching a postseason spot with a road win over the Colts on December 16.

None of those things happened.

What we got was a three-game losing streak that was filled with history (no team with a winning record had ever lost consecutive games to squads that were at least eight games below .500 at kickoff). What we got after that was a lot of talk about George Pickens’s effort and rumors about head coach Mike Tomlin possibly being traded during the offseason.

I’m not going to lie when I say that I was totally disinterested in the Steelers well before their 30-13 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Fortunately, Tomlin announced days later that he was benching Mitch Trubisky, who was filling in for an injured Pickett, in favor of Mason Rudolph. I suddenly had a reason to care again. And it wasn’t because I was in the Mason Cult (why are fans who like players suddenly cultists in 2023?), it was because of the possibilities. Could you imagine if Rudolph not only guided the Steelers to a victory over Cincinnati on Festivus but looked great doing so?

I work Saturdays, so I missed the entire Steelers/Bengals clash on my television, but I got a little emotional as I heard chants of “Mason Rudolph!” fill my ears while listening to the 34-11 blowout win on my work vehicle radio.

But it wasn’t just Rudolph, who completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, who brought me back into the fold emotionally. What about that makeshift Steelers defense, the one that supposedly had so much depth coming into the regular season? Sure, it had depth, but injuries burned through that depth about as quickly as a teenager burning through the battery life of their smartphone. Pittsburgh’s defense went into that second Bengals game on Saturday seriously compromised at inside linebacker, safety and a few other places. Patrick Peterson was playing safety. Veteran Eric Rowe, signed to the Steelers practice squad on November 20, was as well. Myles Jack, a veteran whose free-agent signing had excited Steelers fans as recently as the 2022 offseason, saw snaps on Saturday after spending his recent Sundays watching NFL action from his couch.

Jack’s role grew bigger during the game thanks to, you guessed it, a serious injury suffered by Elandon Roberts, one of three inside linebackers who were signed in the offseason, and now three of three who have suffered serious injuries during the regular season.

But the Steelers’ M*A*S*H defense held firm against a Cincinnati offense that had become potent under quarterback Jake Browning, who was filling in for the seriously injured Joe Burrow. Jack recorded a sack. Rowe recorded an interception.

Pittsburgh’s defense limited the Bengals to 11 points in a rare laugher.

The Steelers are now 8-7 and in ninth place in the AFC. They look screwed as it pertains to making the postseason but not as screwed as you would think. They need help to get there, but if they win out, their chances go from like 13 percent to 82 percent. Why do I care so much, though? Do I honestly think the Steelers have a chance in the playoffs? Not really, but they just looked so good against Cincinnati on Saturday.

I haven’t seen the Steelers look like an actual team for a very long time, and it has me pumped up and dreaming of playoff miracles.

Maybe it will all end this Sunday in Seattle. Perhaps the Steelers will make me cynical again.

But at least I have this week. At least I can now look back on the Steelers 2023 campaign and know that I enjoyed something besides just the preseason.