If you had predicted before their 2023 campaign that the Steelers would finish 10-7 in the regular season, barely sneak into the playoffs after getting outside help, and then lose on the road in rather convincing fashion, I would have believed it.

Despite the preseason optimism, Pittsburgh wasn’t expected to do a whole heck of a lot in 2023. The over/under for wins was set at 8.5. Vegas isn’t setting that number for a team it thinks will contend for a Lombardi trophy.

Therefore, I certainly wasn’t shocked when the Steelers fell to the  Super Bowl-contending Bills, 31-17, in a wildcard playoff game at Highmark Stadium on Monday evening.

But if you would have repeated that same prediction on December 16, following a 30-13 road loss to the Colts that dropped Pittsburgh to 7-7, I may have thought you were crazy.

Mason Rudolph came in at the end of that game to mop up for Mitch Trubisky, the veteran who had been inserted into the lineup as the starting quarterback after Kenny Pickett suffered a serious ankle injury in a game against the Cardinals on December 3.

Furthermore, the offense, one that briefly seemed to get an emotional boost following the historic in-season firing of Matt Canada on November 21, was still stuck in the mud despite both Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan trying to push it out.

Also, every single free-agent inside linebacker who was signed by general manager Omar Khan was out with an injury. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was hurt as well. Receiver George Pickens, the pride of the 2022 training camp, was now a toxic twin alongside Diontae Johnson.

Head coach Mike Tomlin was about to be traded to the Commanders or the Chargers or whatever.

Then, Rudolph was named the starting quarterback for the game against the Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on December 23, and everything seemed to change after that.

The Steelers scored 34 points in a win over the Bengals. Veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson became veteran safety Patrick Peterson in that game. Eric Rowe came off the couch to play safety. These moves were necessitated by the suspension of Damontae Kazee. Myles Jack came off the couch to play inside linebacker in this game.

The Steelers just kept winning after that game and looked good doing so. You didn’t know how they were doing it, but they were doing it.

Pittsburgh hadn’t looked good all year, despite a 7-4 start, but it sure did toward the end.

It’s too bad Tomlin didn’t start Rudolph from Week 1, but then again, how could he have? We all know how it goes with second-year first-round picks, especially the ones who play quarterback. Pickett looked damn good in the preseason. Bigger, meaner, leaner and more accurate than ever.

Much like Jack and Rowe, Rudolph was an afterthought in August.

It’s hard to make anything out of the Steelers 2023 season. It’s hard to point in any specific direction–up, down, sideways, whatever. There appeared to be more regression than progression with Pickett’s game. Yes, you could say he would have played better had Canada been fired prior to the regular season, but we simply have no way of knowing that.

We also don’t know if Tomlin will be back in 2023. He’ll probably be back, but who’s going to be the new offensive coordinator?

What about Cam Heyward? After the game, he seemed to indicate that he would need time to assess his future.

Will T.J. Watt, who missed the wildcard matchup with a sprained MCL, still be at the top of his game in 2024? You would think so, but he turns 30 in October.

I’d have a better feeling about the 2024 Steelers had they finished the way they did but with the preseason cast that gave everyone so much hope.

But the Steelers were a much different team by the postseason than they were in the preseason.

It’s hard to predict what will happen next year, other than that many of the players who helped the Steelers finish in the postseason likely won’t be back by training camp.