Paul Zeise: Steelers are finally winning games with their offense

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 23, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are finally playing modern-day football, and the results have spoken for themselves.

Mike Tomlin has generally been the most conservative coach in the NFL and he believes that old adage, “Defense wins championships.” He has been firm in that belief, and his overall philosophy has been molded by the idea of winning games on that side of the ball.

A big part of the Steelers’ philosophy has been to run the football, keep the defense fresh, play great special teams, give the defense a long field to defend and rely on the defense to shut other teams down.

That doesn’t necessarily work in the modern-day NFL, and I maintain that has been a big part of the Steelers’ recent woes in the playoffs. They have not played great defense and they have in turn not been able to outscore their opponents because they weren’t built that way.

This team is different, though, and it starts with the fact Tomlin is allowing the offense to win games. He either trusts Aaron Rodgers or understands his defense isn’t a vintage Steelers defense that shuts opponents down.

If the Steelers are going to break their long streak of not winning in the playoffs, it will almost assuredly have to be Rodgers and the offense that leads them there. Tomlin and the Steelers were the least likely to go for it on fourth downs until recent weeks, when he has become far more aggressive in those decisions.

Many people would point to the Detroit win as an example of how the Steelers defense shut down a great offense, but the Lions put up 346 yards through the air. They did keep the Lions’ running game in check, but they held on for dear life twice inside the 5-yard line, so it isn’t like they shut the offense down.

But the Steelers offense shut down the Lions offense by holding the ball for the entire third quarter (minus 51 seconds) and keeping them off the field. And that was made possible because Tomlin opted to go for it twice on fourth down (and they got it), as opposed to punting or kicking a field goal.

It helps the Steelers ran the ball well against a porous Lions defense, but Rodgers has been excellent at taking what he sees the defense giving him. And Tomlin is seemingly allowing the offense to be more aggressive in the passing game. The more they open up, the more they will give themselves a chance to win in the playoffs.

I think it should be pointed out the Steelers have feasted the last few weeks on bad or reeling teams and teams that aren’t in the playoff picture. In fact, the Steelers have played six games this year against playoff teams and they are only 1-5 in those games, which means they have beaten mostly the teams they are supposed to beat and nobody else.

That isn’t to take away from what they have done, but it is an important fact because the teams they will face in the playoffs present more challenges than what they have seen in recent weeks. And that is why it is so important for them to continue to work on their offense and build on what they have done.

Sometimes playing against inferior opponents is the best remedy for a team, and that appears to be the case for the Steelers. They have gotten healthy, so to speak, organized and figured some things out in this stretch and now they seem to have some momentum at the right time.

Rodgers’ influence on the offense is evident, and it starts with some of the personnel decisions that have been made. It is clear he wasn’t completely comfortable with inexperienced receivers, so the Steelers added Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Adam Thielen. And all of a sudden, DK Metcalf has come alive.

Valdes-Scantling and Thielen haven’t put up big numbers, but they run the right routes. Thielen is a good blocker, and their impact has been evident. Kenneth Gainwell has also become a big part of the offense and he is one of Rodgers’ go-to guys now.

The Steelers can score points in bunches and probably have their most explosive offense since the “Killer B” days of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, but none of it matters if they aren’t allowed to play. It appears Tomlin is slowly but sure letting them play.

Many people stuck in a different time and place still believe defenses lead the way, but that isn’t and hasn’t been the case in this new age of the NFL. Teams are playing a different game than they used to. They are more aggressive on offense, and the teams with the best offenses are generally going to be the last ones standing.

That isn’t always the case, but it is mostly the case. For too long, Tomlin has had the Steelers stuck in a mindset that isn’t necessarily conducive to winning in the playoffs. This recent version of the Steelers, though, is clearly catching on, and that could mean they are truly built to make a run in the postseason.

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