As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to open their season against the New York Jets on Sunday, team leaders are reflecting on last year’s performance while focusing on future improvements.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith emphasized learning from past experiences. “You look at every experience,” Smith said. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin added, “Like always, you go back and look at what you did last year, what was good, what was bad.”
Last season saw the Steelers win 10 of their first 13 games before ending with a five-game losing streak, including a 28-14 defeat by the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Wild Card Game on January 11 in Baltimore. The team has chosen not to dwell on those results but instead use them for perspective as they approach a new campaign.
Smith highlighted the importance of continual improvement and resilience throughout the season. “You don’t pound your chest if things are going well,” he said. “The longer you’ve been around, you understand, you understand the history and the perspective of, if you’re gonna go on a run, you gotta be playing your best football at the end of the year. That holds up every year. You gotta improve.
“Obviously we were rolling (in 2024). We stumbled and we never got out of that funk. There’s multiple reasons. You just look at yourself first. There’s a lot of fantastical narratives that are not true. But I think the best thing you can do as a coach or, if you’re in any leadership role, you gotta look at yourself. It’s not blaming guys that aren’t here, that’s the easy thing. You see that around the league, new coaches, new players, everybody’s on a honeymoon right now.
“We gotta improve. There’s gonna be adversity at some point this year. I don’t care if you’re rolling, you start out hot. At some point you’re gonna stumble, and that’s when you’re gonna find out. And you’ve gotta see around corners.”
Late last season, after scoring 44 points in Cincinnati and then 27 against Cleveland to reach a 10-3 record by December 8th, Pittsburgh failed to score more than 17 points in each of its final five games. Meanwhile, their defense struggled against opposing running attacks.
Austin addressed adjustments being made for better endurance over an entire season: “We’ll probably try to change some of the things we were doing to keep our guys fresh and keep them ready to go for the entirety of the season,” he said.
This offseason brought significant changes to both personnel and strategy for Pittsburgh. Notable additions include quarterback Aaron Rodgers and defensive back Jalen Ramsey among others; both offensive and defensive schemes have also been updated.
Austin expressed confidence heading into opening week: “I’m always optimistic,” he insisted. “We put in a lot of work in the offseason and leading up to this. Our guys have been working hard, I like the attitude. I know we have talent. I feel good going into the season. We’ll see how it plays out, maybe next year I’ll have a different story for you at the end.
“But like always, man, you start the season and your goal is to be a champion. If you’re thinking of anything less than that or less optimistic, I don’t know—we just hope to get over the hump or hope to make it to this; no man. You start it every year and your goal is to win a championship. If you come in any less than that you’re selling yourself short, selling your players short.”
