PITTSBURGH — The feeling in the Steelers’ locker room after Monday’s win against the Indianapolis Colts was odd. Not everybody was smiling and music, like it usually would be in a post-win locker room, was not echoing off the walls. I couldn’t quite put my figure on it, so I decided to see someone who is usually hyped up after a win. That someone led me to Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds.
It’s hard to say what that mood was, but Edmunds hit it right on the head. This wasn’t about some singular win against a 4-6 Colts team. Oh, and might I add, it was a game where the Steelers were up 16-3 at one point, but needed help from Kenny Pickett to rally them to victory? So, Edmunds explained the odd feel in the locker room, because it wasn’t one of happiness, but one of content to build something with.
“We have to take this thing one day at a time,” Edmunds said. “There is something about going to watch this film, attacking practice like we did this past week. Honestly, we just need to keep on building and standing together. We’re still 4-7, and it’s still tough. There’s a bad feeling on the inside. We have to keep on working. Hopefully, we can build something.”
Okay, that is a pretty pessimistic quote for someone coming off a victory. So, when Edmunds was pried more about a ‘good’ feeling in the locker room that night, the next answer was pretty startling.
“Yeah, we’re still a 4-7 team,” Edmunds said. “Any win we can get, we feel happy. It feels good at least on the inside that everyone’s working and we can build something.”
Hmm, it feels like Terrell Edmunds is pretty conflicted right there. Well, anytime you win a game as an athlete, you feel some sense of pride. So, Edmunds and his teammates were happy, but it was silent happiness. That’s probably the way the Steelers should go about this thing.
Pittsburgh is a team that continues to grow as a unit. That’s wonderful to see as some complementary football has arisen from this squad for the first time all season. But is it truly perfect with the way that Colts game went down? Nope, and that’s the most significant thing that the players get.
Mike Tomlin and the team may not make a playoff run. At 4-7, that’s a tough ask, especially in an AFC where coming into Week 13, two 6-5 teams were on the outside looking in anyways. But Edmunds, the veterans, and this group have all the right emotions and focus on the season here.
It’s not too late, and you can feel downtrodden about a disappointing season up to this point. If the Steelers keep working at it, who said a winning season is out of view just yet? tt’s not, especially with Pittsburgh having one of the softest schedules in the league from here on out. If they can keep at it with this mentality, don’t be surprised if Tomlin and this team at least push for some drama late in the season.