The Lions game was a true litmus test for the Steelers' near future
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What key decisions influenced the Steelers' game performance?
Lots and lots of key decisions in this game, but first, Limits, let's hit the phone lines again. As a quick recap to the entire show so far, I am now at least envisioning the possibility that the Steelers could be in the Super Bowl this whole year. And really, many years running, it feels like it's been all about a playoff game. Can they win a playoff game? I actually think, based on what I have now seen, that they could win multiple playoff games. I do. I'd be an idiot not to say that at this point. Nobody on the planet, and I would have to believe even some people in that room, if you gave them a lie detector test after the Buffalo game, believed that this could happen.
Could the Steelers realistically make it to the Super Bowl this year?
Ben called this a litmus test game on his podcast. Pat Friermuth called it a statement game. To me, the statement is we can play with anybody anywhere. Maybe I've lost my mind. 928-9370. Limits, let's go to the phone lines, shall we? Here's our guy Dennis in Shaler to chime in. Hey, Dennis. Hey, Jeff. So I wanted to call you and tell you that I actually, I speak with Austin a couple of different times and he actually knows, I actually predicted these three wins in a row from the Buffalo win. He actually did. I really, I wanted to give him his props. So he's the one. Dennis is the reason. Well, what made you do that, Dennis? I actually think even though they have done it, that you were crazy to make the prediction.
That's what I said to him. Go ahead. I think something changed with Aaron Rodgers. I think once he got injured, that kind of was a big hit to him. He looked like he was a thousand years old against Buffalo. How could you possibly have foreseen that he was going to come out of that Buffalo debacle playing really well? Because that was his change. That was his realization that he wasn't the same quarterback he was five, ten years ago. He needed to make changes. He needed to actually be the offensive leader that we needed him to be. And I really think something changed after that game, whether it was the fans' reaction, the booing, the fire Tomlin, whatever it was. I think he sat that team down and he said, look, this is what we got to do.
I know how we're going to win a Super Bowl, and this is what we got to do to do it. And I think the rest of the team just finally bit into it. And this is the offense that we should have been expecting from week one. We've had the same talent. The only acquisition we've really changed was Thielen. But other than that, we've had the same offensive core the whole time.
What did Ben and Pat say about the game as a litmus test?
I think something just clicked after that Buffalo game, and they really realized they needed to come together as an offensive core. Well, that's a fact. That's a fact that it has clicked. And I do agree with you that Rodgers... was the guy who set this all in motion. He came out for that Ravens game in Baltimore like a man possessed. He did. I think we were at an inflection point with their season right then. It was either going to completely fall apart, maybe the whole Tomlin era, or it was going to come together, and he, more than anybody else, the way that he approached that game, the way that he played, the fire he played with, the precision he played with, you're right about that. But... That's looking back in hindsight.
You had the foresight to predict it. I'm not sure I believe this, Dennis and Shayla. Are you on the record anywhere saying the Steelers are going to win their next three? I specifically told Austin week to week. Where was this? Where was this?
Why did Dennis predict the Steelers' winning streak?
I see Dennis. I try to interact with our listeners all the time. Tell me where you saw Dennis after the Buffalo game, before the Baltimore game, where Dennis said to you, limits, I see a winning streak coming, including Detroit. You tell me where and when that happened and how it was phrased. I was hanging out with some of my buddies around the stadium and I ran into Dennis. Okay. And what did Dennis, what stadium? The Heinz Field. After the Bills game? Not like the day after the Bills game, but yeah, the week after. Before the Baltimore game. Before the Baltimore game.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What key decisions influenced the Steelers' game performance?
0:01–0:42
2
Could the Steelers realistically make it to the Super Bowl this year?
0:42–2:23
3
What did Ben and Pat say about the game as a litmus test?
2:23–3:22
4
Why did Dennis predict the Steelers' winning streak?
3:22–4:15
5
What impact did Aaron Rodgers' injury have on the Steelers' performance?
4:15–5:55
6
How did the Steelers' offensive strategy evolve after the Buffalo game?
5:55–11:53
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