Mark Madden: The Steelers could win out, but the season's a lost cause anyway

The Steelers aren’t very good.

But they are determined.

Coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t necessarily make his teams or players better. But he does get those in his employ to compete doggedly and pursue lost causes.

The Steelers are more likely to collapse when they’re on a roll than to pile better on top of good. Witness implosions in 2018, ’19 and ’20.

But the Steelers are also known to rally.

In 2013, they turned an 0-4 start to 8-8. It didn’t earn a playoff berth, but that’s the point. The Steelers desperately chased nothing, and all it netted was a worse draft pick.

A similar rally could be in progress right now.

The Steelers could win out.

Look at their schedule. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson has a sprained knee ligament. The Steelers’ other foes stink.

The Steelers stink, too. But they can beat other teams that stink. Witness their last two games: A three-point victory at Atlanta and a seven-point win at Indianapolis.

The Steelers won’t make the playoffs even if they do win out. Having been swept by the AFC East puts them in tiebreaker hell. The Steelers are fifth in that division.

The Steelers might save Tomlin’s streak of never having a losing season.

The Steelers might finish middle, draft middle, stay middle.

But it shapes up as an amazing story. Imagine winning your last seven games and missing the playoffs.

Related:

• Mike Tomlin expects to see 'much better' play if Steelers face Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley
• Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin's deaf ear to criticism of George Pickens shows he's not listening to his quarterbacks either
• Mike Tomlin wants Steelers WR George Pickens to express emotions in 'professional and mature' way
• Steelers coach Mike Tomlin senses 'weight' of 1st matchup with Ravens

The Steelers have a bunch of enthralling sidebars, too:

• Quarterback Kenny Pickett isn’t getting better. He’s just not stinking as bad. But four touchdown passes in nine games is putrid. If Pickett had gone to Utah, you’d be screaming for Tomlin to put in Mitch Trubisky.

• Tight end Pat Freiermuth will turn out to be a better weapon than Heath Miller.

• The Steelers are seventh-worst in red-zone conversion percentage at 48.65. That’s when they even get to the red zone. They far too often settle for field goals.

• Fans lament that the Steelers’ record should be better. Four of their losing margins have been inside one score. T.J. Watt’s seven-game absence might have cost a W or two. But if Cincinnati’s long snapper hadn’t been hurt, the Steelers surely lose in Week 1. You’ve got to examine both sides of “what if.” Or adhere to sports’ truest maxim: What could have happened, did.

• Watt has done little since coming back: one interception, a half-sack, three QB hits, no tackles for loss. Maybe he’s still hurt. Watt usually is. But his presence frees up others, most notably fellow edge rusher Alex Highsmith. Highsmith has 10 sacks, including 6½ in the five games Watt played. Cam Heyward continues to be reliable and then some.

• With Freiermuth’s emergence as a primary target, one wide receiver is always going to be unhappy. This past Sunday it was George Pickens.

• After 12 games, Diontae Johnson still doesn’t have a touchdown catch. Giving Johnson that two-year extension for $36.71 million was a mistake.

• The Steelers too often fold in the second half. They’ve been outscored in the second half of each of the last three games, and by a cumulative 44-21. The downturn in their second-half play is noticeable. One wonders if that’s because the opposition coach is better at halftime adjustments. But did you know Tomlin has never had a losing season?

Tomlin might have a winning record this season, too. The Steelers could win out.

The 2019 season was awesome. The year of Duck.

The Steelers started 1-4. Ben Roethlisberger got hurt in Week 2 and didn’t play again.

But the Steelers rallied, winning seven of their next eight to stand at 8-5.

But they lost their last three to finish out of the playoffs.

The Steelers chased a lost cause, almost saved the season, then collapsed. It exemplified both ends of what the Steelers do, and beautifully so.