Complacency could be Steelers’ biggest foe
division in at least half a century, the carrot now is the No. 1 seed. Some of his players have acknowledged that, but Tomlin would not at his Tuesday news conference.
“No, when you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, less of that is required, to be honest with you. It’s human nature. I find myself looking at global standings and the relationships with people you compete against a lot more when you’re down. Largely, I know that we won enough to be in consideration for the things that we desire, so it’s less time spent on some of that stuff.”
Of more immediate concern might be their inability to have a sense of urgency against teams they are heavily favored to beat. They were at least 7-point favorites against the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars and came away with their two losses in those games. They are 10-point favorites to beat the Colts (3-6) without quarterback Andrew Luck Sundayin Indianapolis.
“I’ve just never been one to be disrespectful of anybody we compete against in the NFL,’’ Tomlin said. “I know records are what they are, but I don’t delve into that. I respect everybody that we play.
“I think anytime we step into a stadium, people are capable of beating us. I think that’s just how it goes. We played Kansas City a number of years ago. They might’ve been 1-5 or something. They maybe won 10, 11 games in a row after that. In hindsight, that wasn’t a bad football team, but at the time, it could’ve been characterized as such.”
That was 2015. The Chiefs were 1-5, the Steelers 4-2. Kansas City upset them, 2313, the first of 10 consecutive victories for the Chiefs to finish off the regular season and then one more in the playoffs. The Steelers finished 10-6, then 1-1 in the playoffs.
“So, I don’t worry about records or painting with a broad brush,’’ Tomlin said. “I think even sometimes we were given more credit than maybe we deserved. Maybe in the past, maybe we weren’t as good as maybe you thought we were. That’s just the reality of it. We better prepare and respect these moments and expect the best from those we compete against. That’s the mentality that I have, and that’s the mentality that I’m always trying to relay to our footballteam.”
With the rest of the division fading, it is the sense of urgency they will have to muster if they are to earn their first No. 1 seed in 13 years.