Mike Tomlin Refuses to Give Up on Steelers 2022 Season: ‘Victory. That’s Our Sole Agenda’

The Steelers’ first half was far from optimal, but head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t thinking about what’s happened leading up to this week. As far as he’s concerned, that doesn’t really matter.

“I view every week as a fresh start,” Tomlin said. “Because your resume means very little. What you’ve done to this point means very little. The most significant opportunity is the one that awaits us all — whether you’re 2-6, 6-2, coming off a bye week, coming off a short week. …

“The windshield component is the big picture for us as opposed to the rear-view mirror.”

In that rear-view mirror is a two-game losing skid. Pittsburgh has dropped six of its last seven, a disappointing stretch that has the Steelers (2-6) picking within the top five of next spring’s NFL Draft. Even with playoff hopes seemingly hanging on by a thread, Tomlin won’t say that the Saints game — or any contest after that — is more important than any other.

“Not this particular game, but every single game that we play is a ‘put up or shut up’ game,” Tomlin said. “That’s just the business that we’re in at this level.”

He’s not planning on changing the lineup for the sake of changing the lineup or looking past this campaign. If he’s going to play younger players, it will be because they help the current cause.

“If it’s conducive to engineering victory,” Tomlin said. “That’s our sole agenda, is putting together a plan and highlighting the skills of a player that produces victory.”

In terms of the emotions of the situation at this moment, he hopes that the team can harness them and put them to good use on the playing field after a good week of practice.

“It’s just about whether or not you weaponize them,” Tomlin said. “I’m more concerned about the emotions that we display on Sunday. During the course of preparation getting Sunday, I just want the group to be singularly focused, professionally speaking, on preparation, because we believe preparation ultimately leads to quality play.”

The Steelers are listed as 2.5-point home underdogs for the game against the New Orleans Saints (3-6) on Sunday.