-
brooke prior
pittsburgh–e.g. cameron hayward After warmups on Sunday night in Week 18, the gold crossed the end zone and headed toward the home tunnel, some east pittsburgh steelers Waited for him.
One by one, they gave the 36-year-old defensive tackle a back-thumping hug as he walked through the crowd of well-wishers.
The crowd of Steelers alumni included former defensive end Brett Keisel and former running back Jerome Bettis, two of the franchise’s all-time greats with three Super Bowl trophies, four AFC championships, 19 playoff wins and numerous individual accolades between them.
With a long list of his personal accolades, including one Second team AP All-Pro nod Heading into the 2025 season, Hayward is already a future franchise legend. But sitting on the podium after winning the AFC North a week earlier, Hayward admitted he was jealous of those former Steelers.
That’s why he turned down the divisional championship attire after helping the Steelers to their ninth playoff berth in his 15-year career, instead placing the hat on the table in front of him.
“I wasn’t wearing a hat for some reason,” Hayward said. “I need a different hat.
“…I’ve been conditioned by a lot of great players here. I’ve learned from a lot of special players, Troy [Polamalu]Brett [Keisel]Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, shoot, guys I didn’t even play with like Joey Porter. They’ve all been in my ear. And they were honest with me even when I didn’t want to hear it. …I really envy them. They have something I don’t have, and when they all get back for their reunion, I want to be able to get some hardware one day.”
With a 1-8 playoff record since being drafted at No. 31 in 2011, Hayward understands the franchise’s playoff futility better than most of his teammates. Which is why, he was just as happy to earn his ticket to the postseason. Wild Week 18 Win against Baltimore RavensHe is far from satisfied.
He didn’t come all this way just for the sake of it. Neither did coach Mike Tomlin.
For the 53-year-old head coach and his longest-tenured player, defeating the No. 5 seed houston texans Monday night (8:15 ET, ABC/ESPN) Finally winning a playoff game might not satisfy an increasingly restless fan base with excessive expectations, but it would stop a painful decline, solidify Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh and be the first step in returning to a standard the franchise has not maintained in nearly a decade.
“We are AFC North champions,” Tomlin said after the Week 18 win. “And it feels good, and it feels good. But we’re not here for that. We’re here for what’s going to happen next.”
It has been almost a decade since a Tomlin-coached Steelers team advanced to the first weekend of the playoffs. The Steelers’ last postseason win came in the divisional round against kansas city chiefs In January 2017 after defeating pittsburgh miami dolphins In the wild-card game. A week later, the Steelers were blown out against new England Patriots in the afc title game 36-17.
Tomlin’s teams have not won a playoff game in eight seasons. No coach in franchise history has gone nine seasons without a postseason victory. Before Monday’s game, Tomlin acknowledged that a playoff-win drought is not a burden this year’s team should carry.
“Frankly, most of these people don’t care about the past years that you mentioned,” Tomlin said. “Most of them are new to us. And so that’s where my focus is. I’m certainly not going to unpack my bag on the gang bed, if you will. I’m excited to do that, to do that with this gang this week.”
Hayward’s last playoff win is even further away than the team’s last postseason win. Injured before the 2016 postseason, Hayward was sidelined during the Steelers’ wins against the Chiefs and Dolphins. The last – and only – time he played in a postseason victory win 18-16 against cincinnati bengals In the wild-card round on 9 January 2016. He recorded one sack and four quarterback hits in that win. the steelers lost 23-16 a week later till denver broncos In the divisional round.
And although Heyward, Tomlin and a few others who were around for much of the Steelers’ postseason losing streak insist it doesn’t matter to the current locker room, the young players have been vocal that they want to win for guys like Heyward, one of Pittsburgh’s four captains this season. “It’s one thing to do it for yourself, but when you’ve got that connection, that brotherhood that we’ve developed over the years, it’s even better when you fight for someone else — and that person deserves so much more,” the third-year defensive lineman tangerine benton Said about Hayward. “So, I’m going to do everything I’ve got, and I think it’s our defense and offense, and our team feels the same way.”
But if the 2025 Steelers feel the weight of their franchise’s nearly decade of playoff futility, they haven’t shown it in the week leading up to Monday night’s wild-card meeting with the Texans.
Instead, the locker room inside the Steelers’ practice facility is loose and full of energy.
A miniature basketball hoop on the quarterback’s sideline Will Howard‘s locker has been a hotbed of rapidly increasing activity. Since the hoops went up four weeks ago, individual shotmaking contests have turned into rowdy games of knockout as mini basketball has multiplied, and a yellow-taped free throw line appears on the black carpet.
Other games have also sprung up around the locker room this week, as some gathered to throw dice before team walk-throughs and others gathered to throw dice after practice.
0:56
Tomlin to Eisen: We’re excited to have DK Metcalf back
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin joins Rich Eisen to talk about what DK Metcalf’s absence means for the team.
But aaron rodgers‘ During Friday’s practice, the quarterback and running back lifted assistant equipment manager Kyle Powers over his shoulders and yelled, “Rudy! Rudy!” To celebrate Powers’ birthday.
But don’t mistake sloppiness – at least from the players’ perspective – for being unfocused or unprepared.
“It’s important that when the game is on the line, and there are big sporting occasions, you’re looking in the eyes of that person that you’ve gone through a lot with, whether it’s just hanging out in the cafeteria for breakfast club or he’s shooting basketball hoops or whatever it is,” tj wattWho has not won a playoff game since being selected No. 30 in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“We have people who really hang out in and out of the building. We work together, we do everything together. It’s a real joy to watch us grow together. And when we’re in those tough situations, no one is blinking, no one is panicking or panicking. We just trust each other.”
The atmosphere in the locker room didn’t just happen the week between the regular season and the playoffs. Instead, run back kenneth gainwell He said he has seen it grow over the past six weeks as the team bounced back from a 6-6 record and rallied after fans called for Tomlin to be fired. week 13 loss till buffalo bill.
“The offense started to pick up,” Gainwell said. “The defense started picking it up, so we knew we had to do it. Getting to the playoffs put a smile on everyone’s face.”
Perhaps, then, it is no coincidence that the Steelers finished the last stretch of the season 4–1.
“For me, I think if you’re tough, your team can make mistakes,” said Gainwell, the team’s 2025 MVP, who also won last year’s Super Bowl as a member. philadelphia eagles. “You don’t want to make mistakes. You want to be free. You want to go out there and have fun. That’ll come with the game. I’m happy to see everybody here with high energy. It shows that we’re ready to go out there and win and do the little things we have to do.”
Smiles are nice, but they are not enough. Not for Tomlin, not for Hayward, not for a franchise with six Super Bowls — the last in 2008.
As the organization approaches 15 years since its last Super Bowl appearance – coincidentally the loss comes to a Rodgers-led team green Bay Packers 17 years after the team – and franchise – won its sixth Lombardi Trophy, fan unrest has never been greater.
Former key players, such as 2008 Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, have publicly speculated that it may be time for Tomlin to move on. And yet, with Tomlin still under contract through at least the 2026 season and the club option for 2027 set to be decided in March, there’s nothing to suggest that an organization with only three head coaches since 1969 will break precedent and move on from its head coach, no matter how loud the outside noise. If Tomlin isn’t on the sidelines in Pittsburgh next season, it appears it will be by his own volition.
Like his head coach, Rodgers appears to be in control of his own destiny. Although he told “The Pat McAfee Show” in June that he was “pretty sure” the 2025 season would be his last after signing a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers, Rodgers recently did not rule out playing another season. “I’m thinking about it this week, but obviously, I’m 42 and I’m on a one-year contract,” he said on December 31. Rodgers’ last playoff appearance was during his Packers days – a 13–10 wild-card loss. san francisco 49ers in January 2022 – and their overall playoff record (12-10) is better than that of their head coach (8-11). Rodgers’ last playoff win came in January 2021 with a 32–18 win Los Angeles Rams In the wild-card round. But before the Steelers can dream of more or the franchise’s central figures can contemplate their future, they’ll have to survive Monday night and advance to a place where few of them have been. “The main focus is to try to win games,” Hayward said. “Can’t control what happened in the past. My goal now is to try to win games. And that’s all we can control. I think worrying about what happened in the past doesn’t do anybody any good. But now we have to play our best ball.”
