Steelers: Praising the successful season but disappointing ending

The Steelers’ season ended in unfortunate fashion and has left many fans upset and frustrated, and rightfully so. However, Pittsburgh’s season deserves plenty of praise as well.

After nine straight wins, and the Steelers looking seemingly unstoppable for almost two full months, the team fell flat in Foxborough, swiftly ending everything they had set out to accomplish. And while us fans and definitely the players feel angered and frustrated and disappointed, it would be wrong to bash and insult a team that has a lot to celebrate and look forward to.

A lot of people have criticized the coaching during the New England game, and have expressed the desire for a new defensive coordinator after Butler’s zone defense plan didn’t quite work. Sometimes these things happen, but Butler deserves a lot more than that.

Butler has completely rejuvenated a defense that has been one of the worst in the league and has turned it into one of the better ones. Through a youth revolution that has involved three fantastic defensive rookies, the Steelers defense stepped up a lot.

More from Still Curtain

Even without star defensive end Cam Heyward, the Steelers ranked first in the league in sacks in the second half of the season, had one of the best turnover margins in the league, and ranked in the top half of the league in total defense. The speed that Tomlin has slowly added to the defense has paid off as linebackers like Shazier can storm in and shut down run games.

The Steelers have a lot of good youth on the team. Artie Burns has proven to be capable of being a top cornerback for the team and can not only cover, but he has the speed and tackling skills to be a great asset in open space. Safety Sean Davis and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave also had extremely good years, proving capable of starting with Pittsburgh for years to come.

Additionally, this team has Stephon Tuitt, Ryan Shazier, and other young players that have been playing for a few years and have really started to come into their own, proving their worth, and starting to bring back a more familiar and fierce Steeler defense.

As for the offense, there is a lot to be proud of. Critics have argued that this year was a let down offensively, as Pittsburgh ranked 7th in the league in offense while having some great weapons. The issue was depth. Yes, the team has Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, but besides that, who else?

Eli Rogers did a solid job. Cobi Hamilton was a surprise, and those players will be great down the road to provide depth once they improve a bit, but they didn’t have Martavis Bryant. Bryant really does change the dynamic of this offense.

Last season, the team averaged 22 points without Bryant and 29 with, which really does say something. It’s undeniable that he impacts the team, and with him back, the offense is fully capable of being the best in the league.

The Steelers overcame so much adversity this season. The team lost their best defensive player and faced suspensions and also lost Roethlisberger for a few games. After a 4-5 start, the team put everything together and won every single one all the way until the AFC Championship, which is a lot more impressive than it may seem.

The fact that Pittsburgh got this far given the circumstances is worthy of praise and celebration. Instead of condemning the players and coaches, we should be proud of what they accomplished. They overcame the naysayers and critics and stormed all the way to the final four teams.

With the players they’ll be getting back next season, and assuming that no injury plagues any major players, this team is easily capable of winning the Super Bowl next year, and this year proved that.

Le’Veon Bell proved unstoppable and the combination of Brown and Bryant could be a scary duo. The true Killer B’s (Bell, Ben, Brown, Bryant………..and Boswell) have never played more than a couple snaps together. The potential there is immeasurable and really exciting to think about.

Next: Steelers: No buying Ben Roethlisberger's potential retirement

With an endless amount of potential on offense and a quickly improving defense under Keith Butler, this is a team to be excited about and next year could very well be the year they push into the Super Bowl.

Despite the disappointment, it’s important that we look at the season as a whole and realize the accomplishments of this team. This is a young team that could be scary for a long time.

Stay strong, Steeler Nation, and be proud to be a fan of the black and gold. We should be.

Home/Steelers News