Tag: NFL Postseason

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Thank You, Steelers for the 2022 Season

R. H. W. Dorsey
Photo by Jean-Daniel Francoeur on Pexels.com

Why thank a team that didn’t make the playoffs, you might ask? The struggles and small triumphs this season gives fans like myself hope for the next season of play for my Pittsburgh Steelers.

By mid-season this year, the Steelers had 2 wins and 6 losses on their record. On the team’s Bye in week 9, I heard whispers of gloom and doom via predictions of an ending fictional 5-12 record or worse. The fact that the Steelers’ season ended with 9 wins and 8 losses can’t be overlooked, considering the first half of the season was dismal. The 7-2 run to end the season can be called impressive, given the performance in the weeks before the Bye. Towards the last games of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had rallied with more wins than losses. What wasn’t so great was the fact of needing help from other teams to advance into the NFL playoffs. I can only speak as a fan of the team to say it’s not a good feeling to find your team in that situation. So, in the final week (18) of regular play, my Steelers hosted our division rival Cleveland Browns. The task was to win the game and hope the game being played concurrently by the Jets and the Dolphins would end up in a Jets win. The Steelers were still “in the hunt” for a Wildcard playoff spot at the beginning of the game, where they hosted Cleveland at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium. It was great to see the Steelers win the game against the Browns. Sadly, it’s now history that the Jets lost to the Dolphins 6-11. The Dolphins’ win dashed any hopes for an advance to the post-season by Pittsburgh. This scenario may sound familiar to those paying attention because it’s happened in past seasons involving my Steelers’ team. But let me say that the fact that this Pittsburgh team rallied the way they did is something to mention. It’s too little and too late, but now it’s time to move on to the future.

In my opinion, what most will call a disappointing season (and it was for diehards like myself that feel the Steelers should always be in the playoffs), is actually an opportunity. The opportunity comes in looking forward to a better season in 2023-2024. Hope is a beautiful thing.

This Steelers team has lots of young talent and seasoned veteran players to help with the rebuild for the next season. The head coach’s lead remains consistent, in my opinion. The consistency is referenced by the cohesiveness of the team by the end of the season. I can’t fail to note how the offensive line came together nicely in those last weeks of the season. It was exciting to watch.

The coming weeks and months will tell the story of how the team will look going forward into next season. There are free agency opportunities, as well as restructuring that will be done. Win or lose, the Steelers shouldn’t be counted out until it’s time to count them out. So, thank you, Pittsburgh Steelers, for showing your drive and heart in playing this game.

R.H.W. Dorsey is a multi-genre writer and Steelers fan.

Blogs, Creative Writing, current events, Uncategorized

Pittsburgh Steelers end their season with a loss to division rival Cleveland Browns

R. H. W. Dorsey
Photo credit: R.H.W. Dorsey

I don’t take the Cleveland Browns win lightly over my Pittsburgh Steelers on the night of January 10, 2021. In fact, I feel like I’m in a stupor of sorts on this Monday morning after the debacle. There’s enough blame to go around for the Steelers’ loss of the NFL Wildcard playoff game on Sunday night. Some say it was because of the coaching, others say the QB was at fault, while others blame the players. Whatever happened, it was the worst “showing up” I’ve seen from my favorite football team.

I can’t give a detailed analysis of the game because I honestly didn’t watch all of the game. While I’m not a superstitious person – I have my rituals like most Steelers’ fans. Routines make some of us fans feel we’re somehow willing our team to win. One of my habits during a game when the Steelers are behind is either turning the channel or walking out of the room for a while. After a record first-quarter lead by the Cleveland Browns of twenty-eight unanswered points over my Steelers, you only have to guess what I did. I waited until late in the second quarter of the game to turn the channel. I’d had enough torture for a while.

I believe myself and most Steelers’ fan were in shock during the game because of the stellar season our team had up until week thirteen. With an 11-0 record by week twelve, we Steelers fans were on top of the world along with our team. I don’t mind that we lost in week thirteen of the regular season. A loss was bound to happen with a perfect record. I’ve seen the Steelers lose many times before in playoff season. But it’s the loss after such a great season, not counting the three consecutive defeats in weeks 13-15, that makes the loss hurt so much. To advance to a wildcard playoff game against a previously inferior division rival and lose to the extent we did is embarrassing. Sure, we made a comeback in the second half (I heard about it but didn’t see), but it was too little too late. The final score was 48-37. Cleveland advances in the playoffs, and we’re left with a 12-4 record to end our season. Cleveland outplayed us at every turn and should be congratulated for winning the game.

Now, who to blame? I’m only qualified to answer as a fan. I’d think jobs may be lost as a result of the way we ended our season. We lost four of the last five games in the regular season. Hopefully, if not in the coming days, there’ll be changes before the 2021-22 season starts. As a fan, I blame complacency by the organization, coaches, and players in preparing for the game. We had a total meltdown by the defense, offense, and coaching staff. Why weren’t we better prepared for this Browns team? Why weren’t adjustments made when it was apparent the Browns’ coaches caught on to our game plan? By the way, the Browns’ head coach wasn’t even present for the game. The report during the game was that Cleveland’s head coach was quarantined at home because of Covid-19. For the love of all things holy, why were the Browns (or you can insert any other team’s name here) “allowed” to get 28 unanswered points in the first quarter? This is not any Steelers team I’ve ever witnessed. Something went terribly wrong. I don’t think an answer as to what went wrong will satisfy any Steelers fan at this moment.  

With all that said, I still love my Pittsburgh Steelers’ team. I’ll continue to watch the games next season and root for my team to win. I’m hoping we’ll have a preseason in August 2021 since Covid-19 and the pandemic it brought stopped the 2020 NFL preseason.

It’s a solemn Monday for us die-hard Steelers’ fans. As they say, we’ll get ‘em next time!