Mike Tomlin said following his team's 36-28 loss last Thursday to the Vikings that he would turn over every stone in an effort to fix some of the team's issues in recent weeks.
As it turns out coming off a weekend mini-bye, Tomlin's pile of stones has grown significantly.
Tomlin said Tuesday every player on the team's 53-man roster essentially has a chance to play Sunday when the Steelers (6-6-1) host the Titans (9-4) at Heinz Field.
That includes linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, both of whom left last Thursday's game against the Vikings with injuries. Watt suffered a groin injury, while Highsmith is dealing with a quad injury.
"After the game, I mentioned a willingness to turn over every stone in an effort to improve, and I said that because I knew the 10-day, or 11-day time period between games would give us an opportunity to gain some people back. We’re excited about that," Tomlin said. "We get a chance to maybe look at Carlos Davis and Isaiah Buggs on the defensive line. T.J. Watt and Highsmith both have an opportunity at outside linebacker. Joe Haeg and J.C. (Hassenauer) on the offensive line. Joe Haden and Robert Spillane that have had roles of some significance that could have an opportunity to get back into the fold. So, we’re excited and we’ll see where their participation and the quality of their participation leads us."
It's a significant number of players for the Steelers, who have been limping along over past month, losing players to both injuries and COVID-19.
And their return to availability comes none too soon. Though the Steelers are just 1-3-1 in their past five games, they remain in the mix in both the AFC North and conference playoff race.
Currently, the Steelers sit in last place in the AFC North. But they're one game behind the Ravens (8-5) in the loss column and close the regular season out with a game in Baltimore, having already beaten them in Pittsburgh earlier this month.
And though the Steelers are currently 11th in the conference playoff standings, they're just a half-game behind the Colts and Bills, who at 7-6 both currently hold down the sixth and seventh spots in the standings.
Given how many of those teams ahead of them play each other and the Steelers' remaining games against the Titans, Chiefs, Browns and Ravens, winning three of their final four games -- two of which are at home -- could keep the Steelers in both the division and conference playoff races.
It didn't erase the sting of last week's loss to the Vikings, when the Steelers fell behind 23-0 at the half, but it does add for some intrigue down the stretch -- if they can win this week.
"We were collective in our failure," Tomlin said of the game against the Vikings. "That being said, we’re excited about moving forward. I think you have to be in today’s climate. Sitting out the weekend provided us the perspective on how wide open this field is and our place in it.
"That being said, you can’t spend a lot of time thinking about big-picture perspective. I think if you look long enough at that perspective, you’d better get singularly focused on the stadium you have to go into this week. We are. Obviously, Tennessee is a quality team. It’s going to be a big game for us."
And a big week as Tomlin noted in terms of turning over those stones to find answers, particularly for a defense that has allowed 118 points in its past three road games, all losses, at Los Angeles against the Chargers, at Cincinnati and against the Vikings.
A big part of that has been the team's inability to stop opponents from running the ball. The Steelers allowed 599 rushing yards in those three losses, nearly 200 per game.
Buggs was benched three weeks ago against the Bengals, then suffered an ankle injury the following week that kept him out of the past two games. Davis, meanwhile, played 17 snaps in the regular season opener against the Bills before suffering a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve and hasn't played since.
With those two out, Montravious Adams, signed two weeks ago off the practice squad of the Saints, has played 74 defensive snaps the past two games. But adding healthy bodies to the mix could give the Steelers more flexibility -- or at least provide more competition.
"We’ll carry pads (in practice Wednesday) to give some of those guys to display readiness and better aid us in some decision-making as the week unfolds in terms of who we go to and who we don’t go to," Tomlin said. "(It’s) a good problem to have and one we haven’t had a lot of. I don’t see it is a negative to have viable guys who are willing and capable of helping us. We’ll see where that leads us."
That also could take place at linebacker, where the Steelers have played the past two games without Spillane. Their top backup at inside linebacker, Spillane had been the team's dime linebacker. But with him out, the team turned to Marcus Allen in the dime and rotated rookie Buddy Johnson with starters Devin Bush and Joe Schobert after both proved to be ineffective getting off blocks against the Vikings.
In this case, it's all about options, as Spillane has starting experience, having done so a year ago after Bush was lost after five games to a torn ACL.
"You may see more of him. We wanted to turn the stones over as I mentioned," Tomlin said of Johnson, a fourth-round draft pick. "He did some good things. There are some things he could have done better. If Robert Spillane has proven his health, it may be less opportunities for him. I don’t want to be painted into a corner in that perspective. I’m just open to people that you haven’t been seeing in recent weeks in planning this week."
Tomlin is willing to do whatever it takes to win games in what now looks like a four-game season in the AFC.
And that not only includes who's playing, but what they're being asked to do from a schematic standpoint.
"We own that. We own it when it’s good. We own it more when it’s bad," Tomlin said of himself and his staff. "It’s our job to find the right formula based on the mix of guys we have available to us. … We feel responsible for the quality of play of our players. We feel responsible for putting them in position to be successful. We feel responsible for the outcome of games. That has been my perspective. That will be my perspective. That’s unchanged and our staff shares that.
"We can do things like I mentioned to put them in better position. So, we’re working both prongs. We’ve got a lot of guys potentially available to us that weren’t available before. I’m excited to see what they’re capable of, as well."
