The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of 30 NFL teams that were sitting at home watching Super Bowl LIX, and witnessed the Philadelphia Eagles absolutely dismantle the Kansas City Chiefs. They did so by having a stout defense, particularly an elite defensive line, paired with an efficient offense led by a mobile quarterback who can make plays on the ground and outside the pocket. That recipe sounds somewhat familiar, or at least it should to Steeler Nation.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, sitting at home and watching the way winning teams operate deep into the postseason is something they have become pretty good at. This year, it probably hit a little different however, since the Eagles did it with a nearly identical recipe to the way Head Coach Mike Tomlin wants to operate.
Until this season, the Super Bowl winner has normally had elite quarterback play be the primary reason for their success deep into the postseason. That is something that has clearly been holding the Steelers back in recent seasons, as the final years of Ben Roethlisberger's career, followed by the start of Kenny Pickett's career, didn't yield that level of performance out of the quarterback position. Russell Wilson didn't result in too much improvement this past year either. However, now the Eagles have opened up a new way to win that many will likely try to imitate.
Losing early in the postseason, or not making it all together, teams start evaluating their roster build, philosophies, coaching staff, etc. all much earlier and explore many more avenues. However, when you are a loser in the Super Bowl, you focus solely on the victors. On his most recent episode of the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Roethlisberger spoke on the difference in being the winner and the loser in the big game, as he has been on both sides. Unfortunately, his most recent memory is from the losing end.
"When you lose, all you think about is, 'What could I have done differently, how could I have played differently,'" said Roethlisberger on losing the Super Bowl. "And then you're only thinking about that, but you are thinking about the other team. That's what you are thinking about. You're mad at them, you're mad at yourself. But when you win, you're just celebrating."
There is no doubt that the Chiefs are going to be sitting there thinking nonstop about what they could have done differently in the game. They made a few mistakes very early on that put them in a deep hole that they were unable to climb out of. Despite those mistakes, it doesn't appear it would have mattered as they seemed simply outmatched by the Eagles for all 60 minutes.
While sitting at home, Tomlin was very likely looking at the Eagles' win as almost validation of the way he has tried to lead his team to become. He has preached being the tougher team, winning the line of scrimmage, and winning the turnover battle. These are all elements that the Eagles did significantly better than anyone else this season, and all Tomlin has heard to this point is that, that recipe can't work without elite quarterback play and a high powered offense in today's NFL.
Steelers Should Follow The Eagles' Blueprint This Offseason
The Steelers have some solid pieces on their team, including an above average defense with some elite level players and the start of a young offensive line that should continue to improve next season. The bones of the Steelers' roster isn't that far off from the Eagles, as they have heavily invested in the offensive line over the past couple seasons. Now, this offseason, the script will likely flip to the other side of the ball and focus on the defensive line.
A key to the Steelers' roster construction has likely been Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl, as he was the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Eagles prior to joining the Steelers. Copying their blueprint has likely been in place for a few years now, and that should only continue this offseason.
