Pittsburgh Steelers Season Wrap Up: After A Successful Season With An Ugly End, Many Questions Remain
By Danny Cox
Halfway through the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a four-game losing streak and a lot of injuries that many thought would be a sign of things to come in 2016. But, everything turned around in Week 11—the Steelers rolled off nine straight victories between the regular season and the playoffs before finishing their run in a 36-17 loss to the New England Patriots. There are a lot of positive things for this team to build upon, but there are also a lot of question marks in the Steelers' future.
Will Ben Roethlisberger be back to lead the Steelers?
In his 13th season, Big Ben had another good season with 3,819 yards and 29 touchdowns in 14 games; he missed a couple due to an injury that should have taken him out for much longer. The QB has been playing for more than a dozen years, and while there are many quarterbacks who have played for longer, the 34-year-old isn't quite sure if he even wants to return.
"I was talking to my wife about it last night and I've talked to my agent about it and [to] Coach about it. I'm going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options, to consider health and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there's going to be a next season, all those things," said Roethlisberger. "I think that's, in my point of my career and my age, that's the prudent and smart thing to do every year."
Roethlisberger's return—or retirement—will greatly determine the direction of the Steelers and how they play the NFL Draft.
Antonio Brown and his problems with the Steelers
Antonio Brown has been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL for the last four years, but he appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with the Steelers. He's been referred to as overly concerned about his own stats, and was even said be "pouting" during the AFC Championship game loss to the Patriots. He also took criticism for secretly streaming live from the Steelers' locker room as coach Tomlin addressed the team after Pittsburgh's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Tomlin called Brown's actions selfish, inconsiderate and foolish.
Right now, Brown has one year remaining on his contract with Pittsburgh and he will likely get a big-money deal at the end of it, but he may not be showing off his skills with the Steelers. It is possible that the team will begin placing calls around the league and looking to see who will make them the best offer.
When the Steelers were good, they were very good
The Steelers were able to win three of their first four games without running back Le'Veon Bell, who won the team's MVP award. Three of their first four victories were by 18 or more points with two by 22 or more points. After the four-game losing streak was out of the way, they were completely dominant on both sides of the ball and didn't lose another game in the regular season.
James Harrison, Bud Dupree and the rest of the defense stepped up when the team really needed them to do so, and shut down opposing offenses. In the wild card round, Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi could do nothing to help his team, even after demolishing the Steelers for more than 200 yards on the ground earlier in the season. This is a Pittsburgh squad that knew how to correct and overcome their mistakes—when they were aware of them.
Unfortunately, the New England Patriots were able to expose some weaknesses that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't even really know they had. By the time they were aware of them, it was too late to correct those issues and they were eliminated from Super Bowl contention. Now, it is time to move onto next year, but it won't be easy.
Instead of being able to celebrate a very strong season, head coach Mike Tomlin finds himself with a lot of questions that are only starting to develop a mere two days after the Steelers' final game. Instead of being able to focus upon building what works, the Steelers aren't even quite sure what they will have next season.
