PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin may not end up having answers, but says he's not scared about another test. Even if in the first exam he, and his team, got a F.
"They handled us and handled us definitively," Tomlin said Tuesday. "We understand that, but at the same time we are not paralyzed by that. We accept that we didn't play well enough last time. We accept that we didn't plan well enough last time. But that's last time and we are excited about this time."
The last time the Steelers avenged a regular season loss against a team with a playoff win was 2016. In the first meeting, they gave up 202 rushing yards to a relatively unknown Dolphins running back named Jay Ajayi.
They also allowed Ryan Tannehill to throw for 252 yards.
When they met in the Wild Card round of the post-season, Ajayi rushed for only 33 yards and the Steelers won 30-12. Now the Steelers had Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell and the rematch happened in Pittsburgh, not Miami.
How will this team react to a playoff rematch, again at Kansas City on Sunday? Will they have an answer for the three touchdown passes and 258 yards by Patrick Mahomes or the six receptions from Byron Pringle?
"I don't know how much you learn from it to be honest with you," Tomlin said of the tape from the first matchup. "They smashed us so definitively, more than anything it's like a reboot."
Tomlin said it earlier, they need to game plan differently. He said we may not even notice the adjustments for this game, but they will be made.
"The changes are subtle for those that aren't in our business," Tomlin said. "The changes are significant for those that are. Not just the changes we make, but the changes they make. When you are watching the game at home through the lens of a television camera, it might not be significant. But the things that you do in these matchups, the alterations you make in terms of concepts that you employ, offensive or defensive, are very significant. Particularly in situational football-possession downs, red zone, two-minute, etc."
There really isn't a key player coming back for this one other than tight end Pat Freiermuth. To counter, the Chiefs played without Travis Kelce in the first game. He returns, not yet a fair trade.
One change Tomlin does notice with his team over the two weeks since the last meeting. They're tougher and more resilient.
"I'm getting extremely comfortable with our guys smiling in the face of adversity," Tomlin said. "I think we are getting collectively comfortable in many circumstances where most are uncomfortable. I think we have been hardened by this process, it hasn't been an easy journey for us. I think we are able to execute individually and collectively because of that experience."
Most on this year's roster hasn't won a playoff game. There are also a few key players who have never played in 18 games in a season, nor the NFL post-season.
"Not concerned about success, I am concerned about exposure," Tomlin said. "So people understand what the environment is like, the intensity of it. How much detail is required particularly to win in situational ball and things of that nature. Experience is good whether it's positive or negative. I'm less concerned about lack of success and I'm more concerned about those who haven't experienced it who play a significant role for us."
Steelers have had road playoff success in its history-at Indy, Cincinnati, Houston, Denver and Kansas City.
Is this team, with all of Tomlin's self-diagnosed warts, capable of winning as the biggest underdog of Wild Card weekend?
