It’s official. The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers have unbelievably qualified for the playoffs. The 10-7 Steelers miraculously find themselves sitting in the 7th slot, and they will travel to Buffalo to face the 2nd seed Bills in a Wild Card game at 1:00 on Sunday. If you are going to sneak into the playoffs, this is definitely the year to do so.

Listen to me now, and hear me later. There are no dominant teams in the NFL playoffs this season. This season feels like one of those years where any qualifying franchise is a threat if they get healthy and hot at the right time. The Steelers are definitely not healthy, but they have found some impressive chemistry under the leadership of QB Mason Rudolph.

Let’s be totally honest. The chances of the Steelers waltzing into Buffalo without team MVP T.J. Watt and pulling out a victory are not great, but the odds are not zero. Let me tell you why.

First off, the Steelers got into the dance. The odds are only zero if you fail to qualify. Now the Steelers are playing with house money. Nothing to lose type of scenario. Even the value of the playoff experience that everyone loves to talk about isn’t the same with this Steelers squad, because this franchise will look drastically different next season. New coaches, and new personnel are definitely needed.

However, the experience is extremely valuable to many individuals on the roster. Regardless of what happens with Mason Rudolph this offseason, this postseason experience is extremely important for his professional future. Rudolph got them into the playoffs, but now he needs to show that they belong there. Win or lose, this experience will impact the type of opportunities Rudolph will receive this offseason.

The experience is also invaluable for the Steelers impressive 2023 draft class. The opportunity to challenge yourself when the stakes are at their highest. Will the Steelers youngsters rise to the challenge, or succumb to the playoff pressure? Hopefully they are ready, willing, and able. I believe this is a special group, and a foundation to build upon, but only time will tell. This playoff performance could reveal plenty about the Steelers near future.

Let’s not forget about the Steelers plethora of practice squad upstarts that have been contributing factors in the Steelers late season resurgence. Qualifying for the playoffs must feel like a dream sequence for these gentlemen, especially the one’s who admittedly were contemplating their life’s work only recently. Those plans will have to be put on hold for now, because they have a playoff game to prepare for. You better believe that this experience will inspire plenty of bedtime stories for the grandchildren someday.

So there you have it. Although I don’t feel like this postseason opportunity will greatly alter or impact the Steelers current rebuilding process, I do realize the immense and inevitable impact on many of the individuals involved. Who knows, the Steelers could even go on a magical run. Bills QB Josh Allen is the modern day version of a supremely talented gunslinger. His spectacular performances often keep both teams in the game. Evidenced by him leading the league in total touchdowns created, and in total turnovers committed. One thing’s for sure, the dude is never timid nor boring. Buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

Steelers Stock Trending Up: Running game 

I was originally going to focus on Najee Harris in this section of the article, but thought it made more sense to focus big picture when it comes to the Steelers resurgent rushing attack. There are numerous reasons for the Steelers resurgence during the second half of the season; Mason Rudolph’s professional performance, more adequate NFL level play calling in Matt Canada’s absence, and an increased focus on the middle of the field. However, the Steelers offensive line deserves the lion’s share of the spotlight in my opinion.

The mere insertion of Broderick Jones at RT jump started the unit’s physicality in a big way. The kid definitely sets the tone for the whole group, which has been rather remarkable to see. The Steelers have also started to implement more trap blocking, which allows the Steelers offensive line to capitalize more fully on their mobility and aforementioned physicality. LT Dan Moore Jr continues to struggle mightily in pass protection, and Mason Cole still doesn’t look comfortable or confident snapping the football, but the offensive line has found their run blocking rhythm, just when it was needed most. That’s a prerequisite of playoff football. Especially with the weather patterns of the Northeast. The running game and defense always travels well.

Steelers Stock Trending Up: Bend but don’t break defense

The Steelers have taken this adage to another level this season. That positive trend has only increased in recent weeks, with the Steelers starting defense sporting new faces in new places regularly. The current starting unit has been held together nicely by a combination of duct tape personnel usage, and some impressive creativity from the much maligned Teryl Austin. Austin has quite possibly saved his job with the recent display of ingenuity during a time of complete and utter desperation. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the task is only going to get more difficult moving forward, with the absence of T.J. Watt.

Thankfully the Steelers go three deep along the edge with Alex Highsmith, Marcus Golden, and Nick Herbig. Highsmith is going to have to step up bigtime against the Bills. Something I believe he is more than capable of doing. Even though he hasn’t exactly been stuffing the stat sheet recently, he has been recording a ton of QB pressures. Marcus Golden is a proven veteran luxury that the Steelers lacked during Watt’s extended absence last season. Then you have Herbig, an elite but raw talent that could enjoy a breakout game with a higher snap count. It wouldn’t shock me at all to see Herbig have a multi sack performance against the Bills.

The Steelers defensive backfield has been an impressive assortment of soft zone coverages, mixed with off man concepts, designed to minimize the shortcomings of a plethora of practice squad personnel. These conservative coverage concepts definitely doesn’t maximize the specific skill set of Joey Porter Jr, but to the young man’s credit, he has done a solid job with every assignment he has been given. I have already noticed multiple opponents focus their attention elsewhere, even though Porter is often matched up with their WR1. Impressive stuff for any rookie corner.

Steelers Stock Still Lacking: Offensive Creativity 

The nightmare of Matt Canada is mercifully over, and I for one couldn’t be more pleased. Nothing is really over until the Steelers can toss Canada’s playbook directly into the trash, where it belongs. Then the next OC for the Steelers can install an actual NFL caliber offense next season. Until that time, Interim OC tandem Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner are being forced to make the best of a bad situation. They have been trying to install new plays and concepts to the gameplan each week, but there are only so many hours in a day. For what it’s worth, I believe they have done an admirable job, especially when you consider their limited resume at the position. At least they are calling slant plays and play action passes in an attempt to utilize the complete field.

Now for the not-so-good news. The Steelers offensive creativity has been found severely lacking. George Pickens is easily the Steelers most explosive offensive weapon. After two monster performances, the Ravens consistently double teamed Pickens Saturday to take him away. The Steelers coaches had to have expected that tactic, as it only makes sense in the grand scheme of things. However, the Steelers seemed to be completely caught off guard. Pickens failed to catch a single target in the game. Shoot, I don’t remember him being targeted. That is unacceptable.

Move Pickens around the formations. Let him work the slot if need be, or line him up in the backfield pre-snap. Whatever is necessary to free him up for some easy touches, because the explosive youngster can turn a simple completion into a long touchdown at any moment. Maybe Pickens isn’t experienced enough to be moved around the formations. If that is the case, that falls on Pickens and the WR Coach.

Pickens has now completed his second professional season. He should be further along in his development. While some of the blame definitely falls on Matt Canada, WR Coach Frisman Jackson is another obvious culprit. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of maturity displayed by Pickens on Saturday. Baby steps, but in the right direction.

The Steelers are definitely a longshot, but at least they get another shot to keep the dream alive.