The Steelers found a way to win Sunday, beating the Colts, 26-24, at Heinz Field to even their record at 4-4.
This after losing starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and then defensive end Stephon Tuitt -- who was having an outstanding season -- for the year.
The win improved the Steelers' record to 4-2 since losing Roethlisberger. They're 2-0 since losing Tuitt. They also played this game with No. 1 running back James Conner sidelined with a shoulder injury.
You'd think all Steelers fans would be happy. Their favorite team pulled itself out of an 0-3 start to regain its footing in the AFC playoff race. The Steelers are firmly in that now.
And yet there's a segment of fans that just aren't happy. How will they ever get rid of Mike Tomlin if he continues to find ways to win?
"Yeah, the Steelers won," they say. "But they're winning despite the coaching. They beat a backup quarterback. They needed a missed field goal at the end to win it."
Blah, blah, bliddy, blah.
These, of course, were the same people who would openly complain if the Steelers had somehow lost this game.
They were the same people who complained last season when the Steelers were losing games because the Steelers' kicker, Chris Boswell, was having a season like the one Indianapolis placekicker Adam Vinatieri is having this season.
They overlook the fact the Steelers were playing against a backup quarterback because they knocked the starter out of the game with their attacking defense.
They just want Tomlin and his coaching staff fired. And they don't care how it happens.
Here's a tip for that crew. Tomlin isn't going anywhere. You can kick, scream and hold your breath. It's not going to happen.
In fact, he's working his way into consideration for NFL Coach of the Year. And even if the Steelers had somehow gone 4-12 this season without Roethlisberger -- which was never going to happen -- he likely wasn't getting fired.
So deal with it. Tomlin is the coach of this team. And he's doing a great job of coaxing wins out of it.
Some might not like it. They might not be pretty enough wins for them. But nobody asks at the end of a season how you got to a point. They just want to know what the final results were.
With games remaining against the Browns (twice), Bengals and Jets, the Steelers should be capable of getting to 8-8 at the very least. And that doesn't count other winnable games such as ones at Arizona or against the Bills at home.
That's why Sunday's win -- no matter how they got it -- was so big. The Steelers now have wins in the past few weeks against the Chargers and Colts, two teams that will likely be in the mix as Wildcard teams in the AFC.
The Steelers needed to win at least two of the three games on this current home stand to remain in the picture. They've done that. And now they can get greedy and go for the three-game sweep next week at home against the Rams.
Again, maybe some won't be happy with the Steelers simply being in the mix this season. Maybe even a playoff berth won't make those people happy, because it won't rid them of Tomlin.
But he wasn't going anywhere, anyway, so you might as well stop complaining, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Who knows, you might just enjoy some of these games.
• In the NFL, you play who you play. The schedule is set for you. You don't get to pick your opponents.
The Steelers face one of the easiest schedules in the league the rest of the way. Of course, they ran the gauntlet of good teams earlier in the season, so that matters, too.
Is anyone in Buffalo, for example, saying the Bills haven't beaten anyone? Nope. They're just glad the Bills are now 6-2 after slogging through a win against the Redskins today.
• Since T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree swapped sides, the duo has combined for 32 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 63 quarterback hits and two interceptions in 23 games.
Sure, Watt has produced the larger bulk of those numbers, but that's why the move was made, to put him on the side on which he was more comfortable.
"I had never played on that side," said Dupree, who is now at right outside linebacker. "I had to get used to it. But it works alright."
It seems to be working well.
The idea was to make Watt, who is the team's Batman, more effective. But it also seems to have turned Dupree into a nice version of Robin.
"It’s way more natural with me on the left and him on the right. It’s worked out," Watt said.
It has. And the two have worked hard together to make sure that has been the case.
"We’re so happy for each other when we make a play because we see the work that we put in," Watt said. "We put in so much to be able to affect the game any way we can. We’re just so happy when anybody on the defense makes a play. But when you share a room with Bud and you’re around him a lot, how could I not be happy to see him playing so well?"
• Mason Rudolph didn't play particularly well Sunday. And the red zone continues to be a problem for him.
Rudolph entered the week 9 of 11 for 24 yards and two touchdown passes throwing the ball inside the 20 this season. He was 5 of 9 for 28 yards and a touchdown in this game inside the 20.
The windows get tighter inside the 20 and Rudolph is still learning what is open and what is not in the NFL.
He has three touchdown passes and no interceptions in the red zone this season, which is a nice ratio. But the constant checkdowns, especially in the red zone, don't help you score. They require superhuman efforts to get into the end zone.
Rudolph is averaging 3.0 yards per completion in the red zone. That's not on offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. That's on a young quarterback not trusting himself to fit the ball into tight windows.
• Some have questioned why Tomlin would use both of his challenges late in that game.
The question should be, why wouldn't he?
The first, which came when Steven Nelson was penalized for pass interference when Zach Pascal basically ran up his back, resulted in a 35-yard play on third down that put the ball at the 50. That call is 50-50 about whether the contact is ruled incidental or the pass uncatchable.
That was a game-changing play. If it's overturned -- I know, a very low percentage are -- the Steelers basically win the game. It would have been fourth-and-15 for the Colts at their own 15.
As for the second challenge, it came after Pascal made a 19-yard catch to the Pittsburgh 31 with 2:09 remaining. Pascal did give Nelson a push to create separation on the back-shoulder throw. But officials ruled it was not enough to justify a pass interference call.
"I know I'm running on the beach in that regard, but given the circumstances and gravity of those plays, it was worth the risk," Tomlin said. "Though the risk, I acknowledge, was extremely high."
In other words, Tomlin was throwing a Hail Mary of his own, just as Brian Hoyer had basically done on the third-and-15 play from his own 15.
Those saying Tomlin should have challenged whether Jaylen Samuels had gotten into the end zone in the first quarter, I can tell you I saw three replays of that play in stadium and none of them showed Samuels on top of anyone.
They just didn't.
And if you can't get in on two shots from second-and-goal from the 1, shame on your offense.
• The Colts' offensive line was the best one the Steelers will face all season. In fact, if you look at the lines they face the rest of the way, the Steelers will have a huge advantage in the trenches in their final eight games.
The Rams and Ravens are average to slightly above average. The Bills are in the middle somewhere, as well.
But the Browns, Bengals, Jets and Cardinals are all among the worst offensive lines in the league.
And as we saw Sunday, even against a very good offensive line, the Steelers can pressure. They had five sacks and nine quarterback hits against the Colts. And that doesn't even include Cam Heyward driving Quenton Nelson back into Jacoby Brissett in the first quarter and knocking Brissett out of the game.
• Minkah Fitzpatrick now has four interceptions in six games. That is the most interceptions by a Steelers defender since Troy Polamalu had seven in 14 games in 2010 when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Fitzpatrick probably isn't a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. But he's been a real difference-maker for this team.
• One of the most unnoticed plays in this game was probably the breakup Terrell Edmunds had on Jack Doyle on a two-point conversion play.
In fact, it doesn't even count as a pass breakup in the stat book.
But in a game in which the Steelers won by two points, that play was as big as any.
• There were a couple of positives for the Steelers offensively in this game.
First, they rediscovered Vance McDonald in the passing game. He was targeted seven times, catching five passes for 30 yards and a touchdown.
You'd like to see some more depth down the field on those, but it was a step in the right direction. A tight end can be a young quarterback's best friend.
The second development was James Washington. Washington caught four passes for 69 yards and made nice adjustments on the ball or hauled in a contested catch on all four.
With JuJu Smith-Schuster being doubled and rookie Diontae Johnson struggling to get off press coverage at the line of scrimmage, getting that kind of performance out of Washington was needed.
• If you're looking for negatives -- and I know some of you are -- the defense did allow 139 rushing yards. Now, 27 of that came on end arounds or reverses to receiver Parris Campbell and 10 came from Hoyer and Brissett, but that's still over 100 yards rushing on conventional runs by the Colts.
The defense also allowed three touchdown passes, which is too many.
But give the Colts some credit. Their scheme is tough to play against. Frank Reich does a good job of scheming guys open and using misdirection. It's why he's head coach.
The Steelers could use a little of that in their offense, as well.
