Category Archives: Steelers 2025 Season

On Paper: Steelers Look Stronger After Week 1 of Free Agency

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The Pittsburgh Steelers were busy during the first week of 2026’s free agency. As expected, Steelers Nation said goodbye to several familiar faces while welcoming newcomers to Pittsburgh.

Here’s an overview of what’s happened so far:

The James Pierre, Kenneth Gainwell left Pittsburgh almost immediately and were followed by Isaac Seumalo, Calvin Austin III, Connor Heyward, Miles Killebrew and Corliss Waitman.

The Steelers welcomed back Cameron Johnston, extended Cam Heyward’s contract, resigned Asante Samuel Jr. Cole Holcomb, Esezi Otomewo and Jack Driscoll.

They also traded for Michael Pittman, signed Jamel Dean, Rico Dowdle, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Jaquan Brisker.

  • Question: So, how has Omar Khan done?
  • Answer: We’ll know when the games start.

Thank about it: A year ago the Steelers secondary looked stronger on paper with Darius Slay’s signing. Sure he was old, but he’d just started on a team that had won the Super Bowl with dominating defense.

  • The Steelers cut Slay, just as they were entering the home stretch.

In contrast, Kenneth Gainwell was seen as more of a “nice to have,” as relief for Jaylen Warren. Gainwell ended up leading the team in receptions and winning MVP honors.

So instead of trying to make pronouncements, let’s look at how each move has impacted their respective areas on the depth chart – on paper.

Michael Pittman Jr. signs his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the South Side in the March of 2026.

Michael Pittman Jr. signs his contract Steelers. Photo Credit: Alysa Rubin, Steelers.com

Wide Receivers – Stronger, on paper, But….

By trading for Michael Pittman Jr.  the Steelers have something on paper in their wide receiver corps that has eluded them for the last two years – 2 viable starting NFL wideouts. With Pittman playing alongside him, D.K. Metcalf now has someone to take attention away from defensive backs.

  • However, losing Calvin Austin was a blow to depth.

It leaves the Steelers without a viable Wr. No. 3 and a starter in waiting. Yes, Roman Wilson could still be that person, but that was the case this time last spring, and he finished the season on the bench.

Defensive Line – Stronger, on paper…

Cam Heyward might be turning 37 soon, but he put in another All Pro year adding another season to what should be a Hall of Fame resume.

Signing Sebastian Joseph-Day is the type of move the Steelers should have made last spring but didn’t, due to successful attempt to game the comp-pick system. Keeanu Benton, is a good player, and can pressure the passer. Yet, he’s had some good moments against the run, as well as some ugly ones.

Joseph-Day gives them an option there, and a chance to work Benton at end with an eye towards the day when Heyward begins his “Life’s Work.” Signing Esezi Otomewo also shores up depth.

Tight End – Slightly Weaker, on paper…

In truth, losing Connor Heyward isn’t dramatic, but the Steelers still have no one with experience behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington. They’re doing to need to add a couple-of-three somebodies.

Darnell Washington, Barrett Carter, Steelers vs Bengals

Darnell Washington dumps Barrett Carter. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Secondary – Stronger, on paper…

James Pierre was the kind of guy you want to keep. Losing Pierre hurt. But the Steelers didn’t see him as a viable long-term starter, and Jamel Dean, on paper, gives the Steelers the chance to field two shut down corners with Joey Porter Jr. yet to reach his prime.

  • Signing Asante Samuel Jr. over Pierre does come with more risk, but also offers a higher return.

The moves also signal Jalen Ramsey remaining at safety, but with DeShone Elliott returning and hopefully at full health, they still had no one behind them. Jaquan Brisker appears to be starter-capable and is a welcome addition.

Running Back – Neutral

You never want to lose your previous season’s MVP, but Rico Dowdle is a proven starter in this league and gives the Steelers an insurance policy with resepct to Kaleb Johnson.

Offensive Line – Weaker, on paper…

The Steelers like Spencer Anderson but Isaac Seumalo has been their best offensive lineman for the past three years. Jack Driscoll gives them depth at offensive tackle, where they need it.

Inside Linebacker – Neutral

Cole Holcomb’s return amounted to a minor surprise, but at this point this is nothing more than a depth signing, as Patrick Queen remains in Pittsburgh and doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.

Holcomb’s a good guy to have coming off the bench.

Special Teams – Weaker

The decision to let Waitman go and replace him with Johnston, who is older and has had injury issues, is a head scratcher. Calvin Austin was a solid return man, and James Pierre, Connor Heyward were special teams demons and Miles Killebrew was their special team’s captain.

The Steelers should find replacements to fill these holes from the bottom of their roster, but they have created the need to do so.

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Steelers Lose Calvin Austin, Connor Heyward as Final Picks from 2022 Draft Depart

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The Pittsburgh Steelers can [almost] officially declare their 2022 NFL Draft as a wash, as the final members of that draft class, Calvin Austin and Connor Heyward, have departed in free agency.

Calvin Austin will leave the Steelers to play for former AFC North Rival John Harbaugh with the New York Giants. Reports indicate that Austin has signed a one-year contract with a base salary of 1.5 million and incentives that could bring him up to 4.5 million.

Calvin Austin, Greg Newsome, Pittsburgh Steelers

Calvin Austin hauls in a touchdown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Connor Heyward for his part has agreed to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders, who have given Cam Heyward’s little brother a 5.5 million dollar, 2-year contract with 2 million guaranteed.

Neither move should be considered a surprise, although both count as minor disappointments to this Steelers scribe. Of the two moves, Austin’s departure is the most impactful.

The Steelers have D.K. Metcalf and just traded for Michael Pittman Jr., giving them two legitimate NFL caliber wide receivers for the first time since the 2023 season when they had Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. But behind Metcalf and Michael Pittman the Steelers have Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson.

The Steelers entered the 2025 season counting on Roman Wilson to establish himself as Robin to D.K. Metcalf’s Batman. Instead, he finished the year on the inactive list. And while Ben Skowronek has represented himself well in spot duty at wide receiver, he’s a core special teamer.

Even if they’d kept Calvin Austin in the fold the Steelers would have likely looked to draft a wide receiver in the first round, but now they’re in a position of almost take a wide out no later than round 2 in the 2026 NFL Draft.

  • Connor Heyward’s departure also thins out depth at tight end.

The Steelers do have JJ Galbreath behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, but they don’t even have another player under a “futures” contract at the tight end position. Connor Heyward’s departure also robs the team of the only player they had who had worked as a fullback.

Finally, Heyward was an impressive contributor on special teams who will now need to be replaced.

With Austin and Heyward officially no longer Steelers, nothing remains of the Steelers 2022 draft class, save for the third round pick they have from Dallas following the George Pickens trade.

Killebrew Reunites with Danny Smith in Tampa

Miles Killebrew has been a special teams ace for the Pittsburgh Steelers since his arrival in 2021 until suffering an awful season-ending injury on the turf at Acrisure Stadium in the Steelers win over the Cleveland Browns last October.

Miles Killebrew, Steelers vs Chargers 2021, Miles Killebrew blocked punt

Miles Killebrew blocks a punt. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Unfortunately, that was Killebrew’s final game with the Steelers, as he will reunite with special teams coach Danny Smith, after signing as one-year 1.8 million dollar contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Killebrew’s decision is hardly a surprise, as reports indicated that he had put his home in Pittsburgh up for sale earlier this year.

There have other comings and goings in Steelers free agency which we’ll have more to say about soon.

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Steelers Free Agency: Should Pittsburgh Re-Sign Calvin Austin?

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With NFL free agency about to open, the Steelers again face questions about their wide receiver room and whether they should keep one of their own. It wasn’t always this way….

…Once upon a time, word was that “The Pittsburgh Steelers have the touch of gold when it comes to finding wide receivers.”

Sure, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the Steelers opened the last decade fielding the following four wide out set: Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.

When Martavis Bryant started sabotaging himself with substance abuse, the Steelers drafted JuJu Smith-Schuster seemingly as easily as if it were stopping in at Giant Eagle to get a half pound of Kielbasa, a half pound of chipped ham and a package of Kondikes.

  • Alas, their golden touch began to leaden as decade closed.

Yes, Kevin Colbert drafted good wide receivers like former Steelers Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and George Pickens, but they all turned into divas, and each of them got traded away. So finding wide outs that they want to keep in Pittsburgh has been a problem.

Calvin Austin III becomes a free agent next week, and today we look at whether he should be the one to break the recent trend.

Calvin Austin catches to go ahead touchdown pass during the 2025 Steelers regular season finale win over the Ravens.

Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin catches the go-ahead touchdown vs the Ravens in the 2025 season finale. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Capsule Profile of Calvin Austin’s Career with the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers drafted Calvin Austin in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Austin, unfortunately, lost his rookie season to injury. He returned for his season as WR No. 3 behind Johnson and Pickens and appeared in all 17 games, but only made 17 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown.

In 2024, Austin started 8 games and in many ways made the proverbial “second year leap.” While he didn’t prove he was someone who could “step up” in George Pickens’ absence, Austin did show an ability to make tough catches late in the season.

Calvin Austin, Greg Newsome, Pittsburgh Steelers

Calvin Austin hauls in a touchdown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Injuries hampered Austin to start 2025, and he was less of an impact player than he’d been the year before. Still, he came on strong in the season finale, and will always hold the distinction of being the man to catch the last touchdown pass of the Mike Tomlin era.

The Case for the Steelers Resigning Calvin Austin in 2026

After seeing Calvin Austin down the stretch in 2024 and 2025 something is clear – he’s not a legit NFL No. 2 wide receiver, let alone a No. 1. And that’s the point – Calvin Austin wasn’t drafted to be one. Asking him to be says more about the team than it does about Austin.

Austin has shown himself as a legit number 3 wide receiver who, despite his small size, can make tough catches.

Calvin Austin, Steelers vs Ravens

Calvin Austin hauls in a sideline pass. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

No one is going to throw a lot of money at Calvin Austin and Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room is perilously thin. They can and should keep him in Pittsburgh on a cap-friendly deal.

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning Calvin Austin in 2026

The Steelers wide receivers have been atrocious for the last two seasons. Calling them a JV wide receiving corps might be generous. Calvin Austin has been part of the problem and isn’t part of the solution.

  • The 2022 Draft was Kevin Colbert’s last and arguably his worst.

Connor Heyward and Calvin Austin are all that remain of that class. Time to finish ripping off the band aid.

The Curtain’s Call on Calvin Austin and the Steelers

Word was last summer at St. Vincents that the Steelers might be targeting Austin for a contract extension. They did not, and Omar Khan can be glad he kept Art Rooney II’s check book shut. Because Austin didn’t continue to improve in 2025 the way he had in 2024.

  • But that doesn’t mean the Steelers should give up on him.

The Steelers have nothing behind D.K. Metcalf at wide out. Sure, Roman Wilson gets a fresh start with a new coaching staff, but you can’t count on him. For this scribe’s money retaining Calvin Austin and asking him to play or complete for the WR No. 3 role would be a win-win for both sides.

  • But it isn’t this scribe’s money.

The Steelers rarely give second contracts to wide receivers and Mike McCarthy has a history of favoring tall wide outs. Calvin Austin is 5’9”. All of which means that the touchdown pass he caught helping Mike Tomlin win his last game during the 2025 season finale is likely Calvin Austin’s last as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

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Mike Tomlin Resigns as Steelers Head Coach. Earth Shaking Yes? Surprising? Not Really

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Less than 24 hours after seeing his team lose 30-6 to the Houston Texas in the 2025 AFC Wild Card Round, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has announced that he is resigning his position with the franchise. In a statement released by the team Tomlin explained his decision:

After much thought and reflection, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This organization has been a huge part of my life for many years, and it has been an absolute honor to lead this team. I am deeply grateful to Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador Rooney for their trust and support. I am also thankful to the players who gave everything they had every day, and to the coaches and staff whose commitment and dedication made this journey so meaningful.
I want to also thank Steelers Nation. Your passion, loyalty, and high expectations represent what makes this franchise truly special. Coaching in Pittsburgh is unlike anywhere else, and I will always take great pride in having been a steward of this team.
While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change. I am excited for what the future holds for this organization, and I will forever be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh.

The move, while welcomed by a large segment of the fan base, is nonetheless sending shockwaves through Steelers Nation.

Cam Heyward, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Ravens

Cam Heyward, Mike Tomlin & Aaron Rodgers walk off in triumph. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Whether this move portends to bigger and better things for the franchise remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Mike Tomlin has earned the right to leave on his own terms and all should respect his decision to do so.

  • The move itself, while ground shaking, cannot be considered a complete surprise for several reasons.

First, this is the second time in two years that there’s been informed speculation that Tomlin may decide to set aside. Two years ago, prior to the 3-game season-ending winning streak and surprise playoff berth, two sourced commentators speculated that 2023 would be Tomlin’s last in Pittsburgh.

On the Steel City Insider podcast, veteran NFL journalist Vic Ketchman did everything but say that Gerry Dulac would break the story of Tomlin’s departure. Ed Bouchette didn’t go that far, but did say the he expected “one way or another I expect this season to be Tomlin’s last” (that’s quote from memory so don’t shoot me if its not 100% correct.)

Then, after the Steelers playoff loss to the Bills, Tomlin walked out of his press conference when asked about his future with the team, and his normal season-ending Tuesday press conference wasn’t immediately scheduled.

It doesn’t take someone with a Ph.D. in press relations or sports-management to know that at least the potential for change was afoot.

In contrast, Tomlin took a question about his future following the Texans game in stride, and was decidedly non-committal.

  • Finally, Tomlin’s demeanor has changed.

To be clear, unlike veteran press reporters, I’ve never met nor ever observe in person. I do know enough to understand that the Mike Tomlin everyone saw in front of the cameras was very different than the one on display when the cameras weren’t rolling.

However, there was something different about Mike Tomlin in his post-game press conferences. After the both wins against the Ravens, the energy he displayed was quite different than what you would normally expect to see.

Perhaps it is because he rediscovered what it was like to have a quarterback capable of hauling a team on his back to victory  and realize that, should Aaron Rodgers retire as he likely will, he’d have to once again start again from zero on that front.

But that’s just speculation.

Maybe, like Chuck Noll before him, Mike Tomlin decided that it was “time to smell the roses.”

More on Tomlin and the Tomlin Era to Come

As regular readers have realized, Steel Curtain Rising has been quiet since the Miami game.

That’s because I’ve been following my own version of “The Rooney Rule”* which is to focus on my family instead of writing about football while I’m traveling in the United States.*

That trip will extend for 7 days more.

But after that I’ll have more to day about the 2025 Steelers season, the Mike Tomlin era, and the search to find his successor.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!

*Dan Rooney’s dedication to the Steelers was tireless — but he always put his family first.

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Steelers Report Card for Win over Dolphins – Delivering in December Edition

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Taken from the grade book of a teacher happy to see his students delivering for December football, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the MNF win over the Dolphins at Acrisure.

Jalen Ramsey, Tua Tagovailoa, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Jalen Ramsey sacks Tua Tagovailoa. Photo Credit: Alysia Rubin, Steelers.come

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 27 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rodgers commanded the field with the authority of a Civil War General leading a counter-attack at Little Round top. He hit 8 different receivers, engineered a penalty to covert a third down, and threw a pure laser for his second touchdown pass. Grade: ASteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell led the unit with 126 all-purpose yards, including 80 on the ground and 46 on 7 passes through the air. At this point, everyone should understand why the coaches have made a concerted effort to work him into the game plan. Jaylen Warren ran for 33 yards on 12 carries and caught 3 passes for 15 yards. Kaleb Johnson had 2 carries for 4 yards. Grade: B+

Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth led the unit with 3 catches for 45 yards. Darnell Washington had 3 of his own for 25. Jonnu Smith had 2 catches for 12 yards, but also scored the final touchdown on a 1 14 yard run. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers
If you ever question the value of having a “big” wide receiver, look no further that D.K. Metcalf’s touchdown run. HE caught a bullet from Rodgers, and then bullied his way through 3 Dolphin defenders to find the end zone from about 10 yards out.  Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen only caught 2 passes, with Valdes-Scantling going for a score, but clearly the wide outs playing better with him in the lineup. Grade: B+

Offensive Line
The line was playing its 4th string tackle. It lost its starting guard during the middle of the game. Yet the Steelers dominated time of possession, ran effectively, and Rodgers – 2 sacks notwithstanding, had time to throw. A very welcome performance from a unit under duress. Grade: B+

Defensive Line
No Derrick Harmon? No problem. The Steelers contained De’Von Achane. He had some good runs, but nothing like what we saw against the Bills. Cam Heyward continues to lead the unit. He set the tone early with a tackle for no gain and punctuated it with a sack late. Grade: B+

Linebackers
Did you realize that T.J. Watt was out? And that Nick Herbig had to leave? Patrick Queen made a phenomenal tackle for a loss to force a field goal, and Payton Wilson recorded a sack to obliterate any semblance of a comeback. A very good night for the linebackers. Grade: A-

Secondary
Before garbage time kicked in, Tug Tagovailoa completed 6 of 10 passes for 65 yards with an interception and took two sacks. Asante Samuel Jr. got his first interception snuffing out a Miami attempt to get into scoring position. And Jalen Ramsey’s sack forced the Dolphins to punt away their first possession. Not bad for a secondary where Joey Porter Jr. is the only starter who was both on the roster and playing in the same position on opening day. Grade: A-

Special Teams
Chris Boswell was perfect with place kicks, although he did land one outside of the landing zone. Corliss Waitman and a strong night and both the return game and the return coverage was solid. Ben Skowronek was a monster. Grade: B

Coaching
Let’s get this straight. No one would have compared the Miami Dolphins’ defenes to the 85 Bears going into the game. But the unit had been allowing less than 2 touchdowns per game during the resurgence that began at mid season.

Yet Arthur Smith’s unit had its best night of the season and patched together its first game with four consecutive touchdown drives since 2018. Smith needs to find a way to sustain this, but the unit is coming together nicely as the Steelers reach mid-December.

Its also time to give Teryl Austin credit. He went into this game missing two of his best strong-side defenders. And just two weeks ago a James Cook had humiliated the his defense on this same ground.

  • But Austin’s defense owned this night.

Sure, Miami had some nice runs and moved the ball a little to open the game, but Austin adjusted and dominated the Dolphins, effectively shutting them out of the game in the 3rd quarter.

  • Mike Tomlin has taken a lot of heat this season.

While some of the barbs have been unjustified, when the Steelers have swooned low, they’ve looked as bad as any variety of numbers could suggest. But every NFL season has its ups and downs, and December is the time to bring it together. Two games into the month finds Mike Tomlin’s team doing just that. Grade: A

Connor Heyward, Steel City Shove, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolpins MNF

Connor Heyward scores with the Steel City Shove. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerman, Steelers.com

Unsung Hero Award
4 Carries for 4 yards doe not impress on the stat sheet. But when 3 of those converted 3rd or 4th downs and one of those was a touchdown it shows you how stats alone seldom tell the full story. Because of that, a because he caught an on-sides kick that had bounced past the first man, Connor Heyward wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 MNF win over the Dolphins at Acrisure.

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Strike Hard, Strike Smart: Steelers Dominate Dolphins 28-15 on MNF

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On a cold night at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 28-15.

The Steelers emerged with their undefeated streak on Monday Night Football that began in 1992 intact and, more importantly, with an 8-6 record and a one-game lead in the AFC North.

Both teams came to the field with something to prove.

The Dolphins had won 4 straight and 5 out of their last 6 and need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Steelers were on a one-game winning streak, having lost 5 out of their last 8. But Pittsburgh prevailed because with the realities of December football closing in, Mike Tomlin’s team found a way to shift into higher gear while the Dolphins sputtered.

Aaron Rodgers, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Aaron Rodgers flicks it as Minkah Fitzpatrick can only watch. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Dolphins Swing Hard, Steelers Stand Strong

When the Dolphins won the toss and elected to receive, the narrative for this game was a latent storyline waiting to be activated.

Miami had been rushing on anyone and everyone. The Steelers struggled to stop anyone on the ground. The Dolphins defense had been dominating opponents, while the JVness of Pittsburgh’s offense has been on display all season long.

  • But football teams author their own narratives.

And, to that end, there’s one thread that will get lost from this contest: The Miami Dolphins exited their corner swinging hard:

  • Their defense forced a 3 and out on its first go against Pittsburgh’s offense
  • Jordyn Brooks ended Miami’s next drive with a sack of Aaron Rodgers
  • Eleven plays later, Zach Sieler did it again, giving Corliss Waitman his third opportunity to punt
  • On offense De’Von Achane appeared to be finding his footing and building up to a big night

Despite suffering a few misfires, the Steelers yielded nothing, and stood tall. Asante Samuel ended Miami’s second drive with an interception. Pittsburgh ended up punting on the ensuing Steelers drive, but Mike Tomlin threw down the gauntlet by going for it on 4th and 1 at his own 28, and Connor Heyward set the tone for the offense by converting.

Patrick Queen did his part on the next Dolphins drive, dropping Ollie Gorden for a four yard loss on 3rd and 1 at the Steelers 32, forcing a punt.

Jaylen Warren, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Jaylen Warren rushes. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

With just over 5 minutes left Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense went to work. Rodgers methodically moved the Steelers down the field, mixing up passes to Darnell Washington, Jonnu Smith, Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren while Gainwell and Warren advanced on the ground.

When the Steelers faced a 4th and 1 at Miami’s 15, there was no doubt they were going for it, and once again Connor Heyward delivered.

Five plays later, the offense was executing the Steel City Shove for the 4th time that night as Connor Heyward was putting the Steelers up by 4 with his first rushing touchdown.

Steelers Strike Hard, Strike Smart

Taking a 7-3 lead out of the locker room at halftime doesn’t deliver much of an advantage, but it does give you a foothold – if you can hold it. And Pittsburgh Steelers, as we know, have been abysmal during the 3rd quarter in 2025.

  • To remedy that, Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith leaned into the spirit of Ron Erhardt.

Even though Aaron Rodger’s had gone 13 of 14 in the first, half, the Steelers began the second one by feeding the ball to Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. In doing so they fulfilled Erhardt’s philosophy of “Throw to score, run to win.”

The Steelers ran 5 sright times to open the second half, burning nearly 4 minutes off of the clock by the time they reached the Miami 19. There Aaron Rodgers faked the handoff to Gainwell, and then hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling  who was wide open in the end zone, scoring a touchdown on his first catch as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Leaning into your ground game when you’re down 14-3 in the second half is certainly doable, but it isn’t a mode your offense can automatically slip into. So after Cam Heyward stuffed Archane for no gain on Mami’s first play the Dolphins were forced to pass. Tua Tagovailoa managed to find Alec Ingold for 4 yards on second down, but on third down Jalen Ramsey sacked Tagovailoa without even laying a hand on him.

  • It was on the next drive where the Steelers offense definitively shifted into high gear.

Aaron Rodgers converted a third down by catching the Dolphins with 12 men on the field. Gainwell ripped of several 9 yard runs, and Pat Freiermuth caught a chunk pass. From Miami’s 26, Gainwell lost a yard. Then Rodgers missed Freiermuth. But on the next play, he iced the game.

He threw a laser to D.K. Metcalf and Metcalf, then took the ball and stiff armed two Dolphin defenders while beating a third on his way into the end zone.


By the time he finished moving, the Steelers were up 21-0, as the Steelers offense was simultaneously striking smart and striking hard.

Rudolph on the Bench, but Misfit Toys Have Their Day

A little over two years ago, the Steelers had been left for dead, only to have Mason Rudolph come off the bench and lead Pittsburgh to 3 straight wins on Christmas weekend.

Although Rudolph remained on the bench throughout the night, the Steelers team that took the filed in many ways represented the NFL equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys.

  • T.J. Watt was out.
  • Nick Herbig had to leave the game with an injury.
  • Rookie run stuffer Derrick Harmon was injured and unable to play.
  • James Pierre, who has been improving by the week, missed game due to injury
  • Receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen were practice squad call ups and waiver wire pickups
  • Dylan Cook, their 4th string offensive tackle, started his first game

Yet the Steelers collectively came together and not only found a way to defeat, but dominat the Dolphins. After Metcalf’s touchdown, Payton Wilson ended the Dolphins next drive with a sack. By the time Jonnu Smith opened the 4th quarter by running it into the end zone from 14 yards out, it was icing on the cake.

December Football Has Arrived, and the Steelers Are Delivering

December has become a month of deliveries. The NFL is no exception. As the Steelers so painfully learned last year, either you step up and deliver in December, or you wither on the vine.

  • The Steelers opened December with a win over the Baltimore Ravens, on the road no less.

But, as Jim Wexell has pointed out through the years at Steel City Insider, the Steelers have typically struggled after a win against the Ravens. Instead, Mike Tomlin found a way for a short-handed Steelers team to dominate a Dolphins team coming into Pittsburgh on a hot streak, and fighting for their playoff lives.

That’s good. But it is December and deliveries must continue. Now the Steelers need to find a way to go into the Detroit Lions in their own lair.

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Rodgers Lets It Rip: Steelers Beat Ravens 27-22, Reclaim AFC North

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The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium as a struggling squad. Sure, they were “tied” for the AFC North lead with a 6-6 record. But they were reeling, behind the numbers, having lost 5 of their last 7.

The Steelers left Baltimore after beating the Ravens 27-22, having improved their record to 7-6 and reclaimed the sole lead atop the AFC North.

In many ways, this was a typical Steelers-Ravens contest, Yet, this game added its own, unique aspects. And its no secret as to why the Steelers walked away with a win: Its because the rivalry’s newest participant, Aaron Rodgers, played his best football of the season.

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Ravens

Aaron Rodgers Runs it In. Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham, Steelers.com

Same Concept. New Quarterback. Different Result.

When Aaron Rodgers arrived in Pittsburgh last spring, the burden of proof of answer the “How much does he have left in the tank” question lay squarely on his shoulders. During August and September, Rodgers answered the question in the affirmative.

No, he wasn’t Aaron Rodgers of old, but he was a lot better than anybody the Pittsburgh Steelers had fielded at quarterback in a long, long time. But the month of November was not kind to Aaron Rodgers. His play slipped, and with it so did an already shaky offense.

Then he broke his wrist and Mason Rudolph played well enough in relief to raise questions as to whether Number 2 deserved an extended look.

Sometimes the best remedy for breaking an athlete out of a slump is to have him starethe dragon straight in the face.

After Ben Roethlisberger had struggled for a few games in 2020, Mike Tomlin attempted to do just that on the road at Paul Brown Stadium on a cold December night.

If you’ll remember, on the first play from scrimmage James Washington had his man beat on the deep down on sidelines, Roethlisberger rolled out, and underthrew Washington so badly the DB couldn’t get back fast enough to grab a gimmie interception.

The play was so bad this scribe wondered if we hadn’t just seen the football equivalent of Ali-Holmes.

D.K. Metcalf, Alohi Gilman, Marlon Humphrey, Steelers vs Ravens

D.K. Metcalf opens the game with a 52 yard catch. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Mike Tomlin prides himself on being a football historian. Fortunately, he believes in letting his players write their own stories, because Arthur Smith opened the action by sending D.K. Metcalf deep down the sidelines.

  • 52 yards down the field, Rodgers hit Metcalf in stride, putting Pittsburgh in the Ravens’ Red Zone.

There, Rodgers hit Metcalf again, for 7 yards, advance Pittsburgh to Baltimore’s six.
Three carries from Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and Connor Heyward netted 4 yards.
So Rodgers ran it in himself.

Pittsburgh was only up 7 to 3, but they’d set the tone for the game: We would see a different Steelers offense this afternoon.

Rodgers Lets It Rip

One deep pass does not an offensive transformation make. But being able to strike downfield sure does change the complexion of the game.

Rodgers connected again with Metcalf for 28 yards to open the 2nd quarter setting up Chris Boswell’s first field goal. After James Pierre’s interception of Lamar Jackson, Rodgers combined passes to Ben Skowronek, Metcalf and newcomer Adam Thielen to get the Steelers into scoring position.

From there, after a questionable penalty on a field goal attempt gave the Steelers another shot at scoring, Kenneth Gainwell ran it in from 6 yards out.

The opening drive of the second half has been a nightmare for the Steelers all season long. Aaron Rodgers opened this one with a 41 yard hook up with Metcalf. The drive stalled forcing the Steelers to settle for another Chris Boswell field goal, but this was a welcome change no less.

After the Ravens responded with a touchdown, Rodgers and the Steelers offense rebounded on the next drive, as Jaylen Warren took a 4 yard dump off pass and ran untouched for 38 yards to put Pittsburgh up by 27 points.

When the dust settled, Aaron Rodgers had passed for 284 yards – that won’t impress Fantasy Football owners, but the reality is that his ability to move he offense down the field with his arm was the difference maker for Pittsburgh.

Steeler Uneven in Trenches, Yet Hold Their Own

IF you looked at the statistics instead of the scoreboard for this game, you’d quickly conclude that the Ravens pulled off a mini-replay of their playoff ridiculing of the Steelers.

  • Derrick Henry managed just under 100 yards rushing
  • Keaton Mitchell added another 76 on the ground
  • Lamar Jackson ran for 43 yards and a touchdown alone
  • Combined Warren, Gainwell, Heyward, Rodgers and Kaleb Johnson rushed for 34 yards

Yet, this game added a new element in the trenches not typical of Steelers-Ravens match ups.

Sure, Darnell Washington, Andrus Peat, Malik Harrison all left the game with concussions, so there’s no doubt that physicality that’s so deeply embedded in Steelers-Ravens lore was present.

  • But there were elements that the stat sheet failed to capture.

No, the Steelers did not succeed in stopping the Ravens running attack, but they did contain it, outside of Mitchell’s 55 yard run. By the same token, while the Ravens rushed well, they never imposed their will. That’s true in large part because, while Baltimore set up several 3rd and manageable situations, the Steelers stopped them.

And the Steelers stopped them because T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Cam Heyward brought pressure on Jackson forcing numerous 3rd down incompletions.

  • An inverse dynamic held sway on the other side of scrimmage.

The Steelers offensive line put in an atrocious afternoon of run blocking. Yet Aaron Rodgers had more time to throw than any other Steelers quarterback of recent memory has ever enjoyed — and Rodgers took full advantage.

Play to the Whistle and Good Things Will Likely Happen

The Baltimore Ravens of course, briefly re-took the lead late in the fourth quarter. With 2:47 remaining Lamar Jackson hit Isaiah Likely from 13 yards out. Although Joey Porter Jr.  dislodged the ball, the refs signaled touchdown.

 

The instant replay official thought different.

The play was close. Had the touchdown been upheld, it would be hard for Pittsburgh to complain. Regardless, Porter’s commitment to playing through the whistle was indicative of the collective focus that the Steelers displayed in beating Baltimore.

Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, Lamar Jackson Steelers vs Ravens,

Alex Highsmith ends the game by sacking Lamar Jackson. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

As it was, the Ravens had 3 shots more shots from inside Pittsburgh’s Red Zone. The penultimate one ended with Alex Highsmith dropping Derrick Henry for a 3-yard loss. The Steelers failed to run out the ball, giving Baltimore one more shot.

On third and one, with the Ravens at Pittsburgh’s 30 with nine seconds left, Cameron Heyward flushed Jackson from the pocket, and Alex Highsmith brought him down as time expired, as the Steelers left the field at M&T Bank Stadium with the AFC North lead.

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Steelers Report Card for Loss to Bills – “Free Falling” Edition

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Taken from the gradebook of a teacher humming Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” as he fills out his grade sheet, here is the Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card for the loss to the Bills at Acrisure.

Joey Bosa, Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Bills

Joey Bosa strip sacks Aaron Rodgers. Photo Credit: Bills.com

Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers went 10 of 21 for 117 yards – which includes garbage time and was strip-sacked to open the second half. Mason Rudolph again got picked off deep in relief of Rodgers. He returned during garbage time but still did not complete a pass. Grade: FSteelers, Report Card, grades,

Running Backs
Jaylen Warren ran for 35 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown. He also had 2 catches for 9 yards. Kenneth Gainwell had 5 carries for 20 yards and his stat line of 2 catches for 25 yards might look ho-hum, his 17 yarder was an All Pro grab of a low ball. Kaleb Johnson ran twice for 3 yards in garbage time. The Steelers lost for lots of reasons. The running backs weren’t one of those. Grade: C+

Tight Ends
Darnell Washington led the team in receiving with 2 catches for 45 yards, both of which came in garbage time. Jonnu Smith had one catch for 6 yards and ran the wrong route on another catch. Grade: F

Wide Receivers
In his quest to seemingly become a modern-day Charles Lockett, D.K. Metcalf led the Steelers wide receivers with 3 catches for 32 yards. Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek combined for a grand total of ZERO catches on 5 targets. Grade: F

Offensive Line
Before looking at any numbers, put yourself through a quick eye test: Which offensive line looked like it was playing without its two starting tackles? For the record, the Bills only sacked Aaron Rodgers once and hit him two other times. The Steelers rushing average was respectable. But the Steelers offensive line never dictated tempo, and never dominated. Not only did the line fail to get sufficient push to get 2 yards on 4th and 2 in garbage time – the play lost yards. Grade: F

Defensive Line
Derrick Harmon may not have put up a lot of pretty stats so far in his rookie year, but the Steelers clearly missed him. No one should scapegoat the defensive line for a historically poor performance against the Bills. But they are the first line of defense. Grade: F

Linebackers
Let’s get this straight – the Buffalo Bills entered the game missing both starting tackles, yet the only player to touch Josh Allen was Patrick Queen? Where were T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig? What about Malik Harrison who was supposed to be an elite run stuffer? Grade: F

Secondary
Brandin Echols opened the game with an interception that, in an alternate reality, should have set the tone. Fun fact: Josh Allen only threw for 6 more yards than Aaron Rodgers. Fair enough. He didn’t need to. Grade: D

Special Teams
Corliss Waitman had a strong day punting, pinning the Bills deep twice and booming off a 51 yarder. Calvin Austin had a punt nice return of 12 yards. Steelers solid kick return coverage and average returns. Chris Boswell made his one field goal. Grade: C

Coaching
OK…. Where to start?

How about here: Question for Arthur Smith. Why did Pat Freiermuth get 13% fewer snaps than Jonnu Smith?

To be fair, there’s no obvious correlation between respective workloads for both players and won/loss results. But Pat Freiermuth has an 81% catch rate this year vs 69% for Jonnu Smith, and for those meta state folks, Freiermuth’s “success rate” is 59.4% vs 46.5%.

Let’s be honest here – this Steelers offense has talent issues that Joe Gibbs, an man who wrote the book of “Doing More on Offense with Less,” couldn’t fix in his prime. This offense’s ills are not getting cured by a home remedy of “Feed Freiermuth more” and call me in the morning.

But that’s the point – because he’s got such a dearth of talent, Smith needs to maximize every advantage that he has, and giving Smith priority over Freiermuth provides a perfect example of how Smith fails to do that.

As for the running game, the Bills displayed the type of rushing offense the Steelers want and are very, very far from getting.

As for the Bills rushing offense….

Wow. The Steelers run defense has some high profile struggles this year (see the first  Bengals game). It suffered some hiccups that largely flew under the radar. But successes against the Colts, Chargers and Bears suggested that Teryl Austin’s team had turned a corner.

The Steelers run defense did turn a corner against the Bills – it turned a corner and went the wrong way. Its hard to evaluate the passing defense, because Buffalo barely needed to pass.

Whether you use the “eye test” or choose to base your analysis on hard statistics, the Steelers arrive at December 1st as a team that has regressed in every meaningful way from where they stood on October 1st.

And that’s firmly on Mike Tomlin’s shoulders. Grade: F

Joey Porter Jr., Keon Coleman, Steelers vs Bills.

Joey Porter Jr. tackles Keon Coleman. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Unsung Hero Award
There’s one player who quietly had a good game. You didn’t hear his name much or even see him much – save for the touchdown-saving open field tackles he made, and for that Joey Porter Jr. wins the Unsung Hero Award for the Steelers 2025 loss to the Bills at Acrisure.

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Bottoming Out Continues: Bills Batter Steelers 26-7 @ Acrisure

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Heading into the home stretch of their 2025, the Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed the Buffalo Bills into Acrisure Stadium and got blasted, losing 26-7.

  • Following the defeat Pat Freiermuth explained, “It sucks. That’s the only way to describe this loss.”

Yes. The Steelers did suck on Sunday. And then some. They’ve now lost 5 of their last 7, and this latest defeat represents the clearest signal to date that the bottoming out process that Mike Tomlin and the franchise have so deftly avoided for 6 years continues to gain momentum.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers vs Bills.

Mike Tomlin’s long face tells it all. Photo Credit: Aaron Anastasia, Steelers.com

First Half, Ugly, But Above the First Line

When this article hits the internet, 24 hours won’t have even passed his the Steelers 2025 loss to the Bills. But by this point has long forgotten the fact that, for the first 30 minutes, the Steelers played winning football.

  • No, they weren’t playing “good” football.

In fact, they were behind the Bills in several statistical categories, but leading in the score – in many ways a reversal of last week’s loss to the Bears, where the Steelers won on the stat sheet everywhere except the point tally.

But the Steelers did a number of things right to earn their lead including:

  • Brandin Echols picking off Josh Allen, ending Buffalo’s first drive.
  • Nick Herbig forcing the mighty James Cook to fumble, with Patrick Queen recovering
  • Kenneth Gainwell making an All Pro catch just above the turf and running it to the Red Zone
  • The Steelers defense forced two Bills punts, in addition to those turnovers

And to end the half, the Bills capped off a 16, 7:18 second drive by running 5 plays inside the Pittsburgh’s Red Zone, with the Steelers defense forcing a field goal.

The water stood at the vessel’s halfway line. clearly your defense is doing something wrong if you give up a 16-play, seven-minute plus drive in the NFL; but if your defense can tighten the screws in the Red Zone just enough so that you can force a field goal, there’s also hope.

The question heading into the locker room was which fork in the road would the Steelers take?

Steelers Stumble into 2 Headshots to Start Second Half

The 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers have started 2nd halves of games with leads, only to squander them. One of the biggest constants in those second-half collapses has been disastrous drives to open the third quarter.

  • Could the Steelers avoid such a disaster against Buffalo?

No, they couldn’t. No. Instead of feigning a good performance for a couple of snaps, Pittsburgh’s first series of the second half lasted precisely one play, as Joey Bosa strip sacked Aarron Rodgers and Christian Benford recovered, taking it to the house.

Joey Bosa, Aaron Rodgers, Steelers vs Bills

Joey Bosa strip sacks Aaron Rodgers. Photo Credit: Bills.com

In just 16 seconds, the Buffalo Bills had taken the lead at Acrisure Stadium.

Rudolph rescued the Steelers entire season on a cold December night just two years ago, could he do it again? Well, a penalty on the kickoff by Sebastian Castro didn’t help. Nor did a negative run by Jaylen Warren on first down. But an unsportsman like conduct penalty on the Bills moved the ball to the 32 and gave the Steelers a fresh set of downs.

  • Jaylen Warren responded with a 4-yard run. A step in the right direction, eh?

AT that point, Arthur Smith decided to take a deep shot. Which is fine. He decided to do it using play action, which is even better. (Nod to my buddy Matt C. Steel, who’ll no doubt remind us that play action out of the shotgun isn’t nearly as effective.)

Mason Rudolph wanted to target Darnell Washington. Again, a very good idea. Washington’s a big target who is very hard to take down. The Bills knew that. Which is why they put three defenders on him. Rudolph threw the ball anyway. Risky, you’re trying to thread a needle. But Washington’s tall. He gives you a big hole on your needle to thread.

And triple coverage be damned, there was a window for Rudolph there. Unfortunately, he missed it, overthrowing Washington and sending directly to Christian Benford, who picked it off.

The Steelers had only run 5 plays in the second half in less than 2 minutes of action, yet they’d still managed to walk into two headshots.

Body Blows: Bills Impose Their Will

Fans of pro wrestling will appreciate this metaphor. The Steelers opening of the second half was somewhat reminiscent to WrestleMania XV’s shoot match between Butterbean and Bart Gunn, where Gunn opened the first round by taking two shots to the head.

  • The second shot knocked out Gunn, ending the affair.

By comparison, Bart Gunn was far more fortunate than the Steelers defense, because Gunn got to go home after suffering his second headshot. In contrast, the Steelers defense had to continue to stand in there, and take body blows for the next 28 minutes.

T.J. Watt, James Cook, Steelers vs Bills

T.J. Watt tries and fails to stop James Cook. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune Review

In the first half, James Cook and Ray Davis had shown they could run on the Steelers defense.
In the second half, the duo proved they could impose their will.

Last season, after Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson ridiculed the Steelers run defense in the playoffs, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan went out and drafted Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black. The Steelers run defense has had its weaknesses at times, but overall its been better, and it did deliver a shutdown performance against the Colts.

  • Harmon missed the game with an injury, and the Steelers felt his absence.

But while that may explain a few things, it excuses nothing. The Bills were without their top two tackles. But you wouldn’t have known it had Jim Nanz and Tony Romo not continually reminded us.

  • It didn’t matter if the Bills ran inside or ran outside, or which running back they used, Pittsburgh was powerless to stop them.

On their lone non-turnover 3rd quarter possession, the Steelers managed 9 yards on two runs. By the time they got the ball back, they were down 16 points. It was then, in garbage time, that they managed a 10-play drive that ultimately ended in a turnover on downs.

Bottoming Out – Or Full Fledged Free Fall?

Early in the game, before the outcome was clear, Nanz and Romo pointed out that the Steelers had tied Tom Landry’s record of 21 consecutive non-losing seasons. The streak started with Bill Cowher’s 2004 Steelers and has continued since Mike Tomlin arrived.

The story of how Art Rooney II’s troika of Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan have managed to avoid the inevitable bottoming out process for so long is an impressive one, but one for another day.

Because the Pittsburgh Steelers are clearly a team in the process of bottoming out. This reality has been evident for several weeks.

But the loss to the Bills brings up a brutal question: Can Mike Tomlin prevent this bottoming out from becoming a full-fledged a freefall?

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Steelers 2025 Thanksgiving Honors: Pat Freiermuth

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Say it now Steelers Nation and say it in unison, “Muuth!!”

Yes, you hear the battle cry on the road almost as often and  almost as automatic on the road as you do at Acruisure. When you hear it, you know that things are going well. And things are going well because the new number 88 for the Pittsburgh Steelers has just authored the play.

And that’s why we’re happy to give 2025 Steelers Thanksgiving Honors to Pat Freiermuth

Pat Freiermuth, Jordan Battle, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals TNF

Pat Freiermuth stiff arms Jordan Battle en route to the end zone. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

The Steelers Twists and Turns @ Tight End

Tight end is one of those tricky positions for the Steelers.

Under Chuck Noll it went from a position of strength featuring players like Larry Brown, Randy Grossman and Bennie Cunningham, to almost total obscurity (you don’t see many Preston Gothard throwback jerseys, do you?) without rhyme or reason.

Larry Brown, Super Bowl IX

Larry Brown catches a touchdown in Super Bowl XI. Photo Credit, Twitter, Vintage Steelers

But there’s no mystery behind the fact that the Steelers second Super Bowl era was quietly anchored by tight end Heath Miller, hands down the franchise’s best at the position.

Following Miller’s retirement, the franchise rode the tight end carousel trying out home grown options like Jesse James, free agents like Ladarius Green and Eric Ebron and trades for guys like Vance McDonald.

Some of those worked better than others, but Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert took the team off the carousel when they took Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Steelers 2025 Thanksgiving Honors: Pat Freiermuth

Pat Freiermuth arrived in Pittsburgh and not only became an immediate starter, but Ben Roethlisberger’s go-to guy in a season the Steelers signal caller exited the NFL by authoring 7 more 4th quarter comebacks.

IT is easy to see why.

As a rookie, Pat Freiermuth caught 60 passes 7 touchdowns and boasted a 75% catch rate, which for comparison purposes, is 3 points better than Heath Miller’s career average. During that first year it was fair to wonder whether Freiermuth would mirror Miller’s stature at the position.

To be honest, his development hasn’t quite followed that path.

  • But, to be fair to Freiermuth, that’s an extremely high bar to clear.

So what has Pat Freiermuth done since his sensational rookie year? He’s caught 123 passes and counting, 15 touchdowns while compiling a 73.7% catch rate. Those numbers are impressive, but what’s more impressive is the way he does it.

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers vs. Browns,

Focused Pat Freiermuth scores the go ahead touchdown. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

When times get tough, the wise move for the quarterback is to look to Pat Freiermuth.

As a rookie, Ben Roethlisberger looked to Freiermuth in the 4th quarter on the road against the Browns to put the Steelers ahead for good, giving Big Ben one final win in Cleveland. Last year, Russell Wilson targeted Freiermuth against Washington to give the Steelers a lead in a 1 point game. Aaron Rodgers did the same thing against Indianapolis just a few weeks ago.

Six of Pat Freiermuth’s 15 touchdowns have been lead changers there’s a reason why clutch players are clutch players. And even when he doesn’t give Pittsburgh a lead during a win, Pat Freiermuth makes it look pretty:


And that clips offers an additional reason of why Pat Freiermuth is winning Steelers Thanksgiving Honors in 2025. With that catch from last week’s loss in Chicago, Freiermuth has now caught touchdowns from Ben Roethlisberger, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph.

  • That’s 7 separate quarterbacks, if you haven’t been counting.

Catching touchdowns from 7 different quarterbacks over 5 seasons is an interesting and somewhat impressive stat. But underlines something far more important about Pat Freiermuth: As the Steelers offense has struggled for the last 5 years, Freiermuth has been a source of stability and has easily been the unit’s most consistent player.

And that fact, more than any statistics we can cite, is the reason why Pat Freiermuth wins Steelers 2025 Thanksgiving Honors

A Word about Steelers Thanksgiving Honors

In 2009, as the Steelers were ramping up for what would be the infamous 5 game losing streak the punctuated their Super Bowl hangover, I was looking for a sign of hope, something to be thankful for.

Rashard Mendenhall jumped out to me.

Not only had he authored several impressive games after taking over the starting role for Willie Parker, but in the loss to Kansas City after Andy Studebaker had intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass Mendenhall not only picked himself up off the turf, he crossed width of the field, and ran down at the 8 yard line to save a touchdown.

  • Thus, the tradition of Steelers Thanksgiving Honors was born.

Every Thanksgiving since then, Steel Curtain Rising has taken out time to shine the spotlight on someone who makes us thankful that they’re with the Steelers:

2009 – Rashard Mendenhall
2010 – Marukice Pouncey, Emmanuel Sanders, Al Everest
2011 – Antonio Brown
2012 – Keenan Lewis
2013 – Cam Heyward
2014 – Le’Veon Bell
2015 – “The Understudies” – Alejandro Villanueva, DeAngelo Williams, Will Allen, Cody Wallace
2016 – Ryan Shazier
2017 – Ben Roethlisberger
2018 – JuJu Smith-Schuster
2019 – Kevin Colbert
2020 – T.J. Watt
2021 – Cam Heyward (second time)
2022 – Larry Ogunjobi
2023 – Chris Boswell
2024 — Russell Wilson

As you can see, many Steelers Thanksgiving Honorees are franchise pillars. Time has certainly shown others to be short timers.

But that’s the point: They all underlie the wisdom of giving thanks for something in the moment that you have it.

Happy Thanksgiving Steelers Nation

Thanksgiving is my favorite US holiday, as it is something embraced by everyone. And today marks my 24th Thanksgiving celebrated outside of the United States.

Hopefully, everyone reading this, be you here in Argentina, up in Mexico or somewhere in the good ole USA has reasons drawn from family and friends – and not football — to give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving Steelers Nation.

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