PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥 The trick to going nearly two decades without a losing season is to find a way to pull out a victory or two along the way that maybe you shouldn’t have.
Actually, maybe it’s not a trick at all. Maybe that’s just the Mike Tomlin Experience in Pittsburgh.
The longest-tenured head coach in major North American professional sports likes to say there is nothing 鈥渕ystical鈥 about his job. That all that matters when the clock hits zero at the end of the fourth quarter (and occasionally beyond) is that the Steelers have more points next to their name than the opponent does next to theirs.
How Pittsburgh gets there is immaterial, at least to Tomlin. So, forgive him if he didn’t offer an apology after the Steelers improved to 2-1 with a over New England on Sunday that had all the hallmarks of one of those 鈥渉ow did they do that?鈥 performances that Tomlin’s teams find a way to churn out a couple of times each fall.
鈥淚t’s good to win in the NFL,鈥 Tomlin said after beating the Patriots on the road for the first time in 17 years.
The Steelers did it on a day they were outgained by more than 160 yards, failed to produce a single first down on four of their eight drives (excluding kneel downs at the end of each half) and let Drake Maye & Co. spend most of the afternoon moving up and down the field with regularity if not ease.
Yet when it mattered, Pittsburgh found a way, not by luck, but by doing the things the coaching staff instills from the first day of offseason workouts to the final snap of the season.
The against the Patriots were exactly that: takeaways. New England didn’t gift Pittsburgh the ball by being sloppy. The Steelers earned every one of them 鈥 , by lowering their shoulder to dislodge the ball from a running back or in hopes of knocking it free.
It wasn’t luck. It was practice habits turning into tangible results.
鈥淲e spend a lot of time on our ball search culture,鈥 Tomlin said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just words, it鈥檚 an agenda. The efforts of the guys make it real, not only on Sunday but during the course of the week.鈥
The 鈥渢urnover culture鈥 isn’t a catchphrase but a way of life. Outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin rewards players who create takeaways in games or practices with T-shirts or karate belts, making the quest to get swag competitive.
It also can provide a confidence boost, something the Steelers needed after getting the previous week.
鈥淟ike, say you had an off week (in the previous game), and you get a turnover (in practice), coming into the next week and you have that before you leave to go to the next game, it helps you get your vibes back,” inside linebacker Patrick Queen said earlier this season.
And the vibes were high after T.J. Watt’s fumble recovery midway through the fourth quarter of a tied game opened the door for Aaron Rodgers to wake up a sluggish offense by leading a nine-play go-ahead touchdown drive that ended with a perfect lob to the end zone for wide receiver Calvin Austin.
One more stop 鈥 this one on a textbook tackle by cornerback Brandin Echols to stuff a fourth-and-1 鈥 and Pittsburgh remained unbeaten on the road on a day it looked beatable everywhere but the scoreboard.
Same as it ever was for a coach whose teams are often defined by regularly finding a way to find a way, even when maybe they didn’t deserve to.
鈥淚t cannot be going the way that you desire, but you鈥檇 better have enough emotion, you鈥檇 better have enough belief,鈥 Tomlin said. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 better stay the course in an effort to do that.鈥
What’s working
To borrow one of Tomlin’s pet phrases, the ability to 鈥渒eep a lid on it.鈥 While the Patriots piled up 369 yards, the yards didn’t come in huge chunks but rather nibbles. New England had five drives of eight plays or more. Longer drives give defenses the chance to force a mistake, something the Steelers did regularly. Of those five extended drives, two ended in touchdowns, two ended in turnovers and one in a failed fourth-down attempt.
What needs help
Those 鈥渟plash鈥 plays by the defense helped cover up what needs help: the ability for the defense to get off the field. The Steelers are allowing opponents to convert 47% of their third downs and have forced just three three-and-outs through three games. As opportunistic as they were against New England, producing five takeaways a week is not sustainable.
Stock up
Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon looked every bit the player Pittsburgh thought it was getting when it drafted him 21st overall last spring. Harmon’s NFL debut after missing the first two games with a knee injury didn’t disappoint. He collected his first sack and added two tackles while playing about half the game.
Stock down
Whatever momentum wide receiver Roman Wilson built during training camp has vanished. He played just nine snaps in New England and has one catch for seven yards through three games, not exactly a ringing endorsement from the coaching staff that he’s ready to make an impact.
Injuries
Pittsburgh escaped Foxborough relatively healthy and there’s optimism that cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) and safety DeShon Elliott (knee) could return as soon as this week.
Key number
.682 鈥 Pittsburgh’s winning percentage in one-score games (eight points or fewer) since the start of 2017, the best in the NFL.
Next steps
Try to do something they , beat Minnesota on the other side of the Atlantic in Week 4.
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