What looked like the end of an era was captured for posterity a bunch of times during and after the collapse against Cleveland. It might be a while before Mike Tomlin and the survivors find themselves smiling for the cameras again.
Cleveland won’t be what they could have been Sunday night due to circumstances beyond their control. The Steelers need to be all they can be, anyway, or else.
The quarterback and his team need to identify what’s wrong before they can fix it. There’s enough evidence available to identify the former, which gives them a chance to accomplish the latter in time.
A coalition of Pittsburghers is working to make inclusion an integral part of the hiring process and creating spaces where people feel as if they belong.
The team, with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, has gone from being perceived as a legitimate contender to being doubted locally and nationally, and deservedly so.