Kovacevic: Don't undersell these Steelers' intangibles as a building block

"It's only about one thing," Markus Golden would tell me through that glorious, gap-toothed grin of his. "It's about the fight. If we fight, the way we just did ... if we fight together, we win."

He shook his head and added, "No need to make it more complicated than it is."

That last line, I'll share, was a gentle admonishment. Golden and I talk a lot. Each week after practices and after each game.

In this game Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, these surreal Steelers, somehow 5-3 despite having been outgained by all eight opponents, would overtake the Titans, 20-16, on the strength of yet another fourth-quarter comeback (their NFL-leading fourth), yet another decisive drive by Kenny Pickett (his sixth over 20 career starts), and yet another defensive takeaway (the league's second-most at 16) to raise the team's turnover differential to plus-8 (tied for the league's highest) in the electric form of Kwon Alexander's final-minute pick of Will Levis:

I mean, it's as if all the rest doesn't matter. As if ranking 28th in total offense, 30th in total defense and 24th with a minus-30 points differential can be routinely diluted by ... what, a bunch of moxie or mojo or magic beans?

That's what Golden was referencing by my making it too complicated, by the way.

"Man, we aren't perfect. We know we can be better," he'd elaborate. "But the part you can't miss is the fight. This team has that. Not every team does. You can't take that for granted. You can't assume that'll be there. We have it. And we'll continue to have it, which is why we'll just keep getting better."

I nodded respectfully, and that was the last word. Besides, it's never all too bright to argue with someone an hour or so removed from doing this:

And then celebrating it like this:

 MICHAEL OWENS / GETTY

Markus Golden celebrates his sack in the second quarter Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium

But hey, he's also right. About the fight.

____________________

See, I'm completely comfortable crafting a column one day that's richly critical of Mike Tomlin's recent tenure, then writing right here the next day that he's a legit leader of men.

Why?

Well, because I used that same phrase in the first column, but also because it's true. At least as it applies to motivating the 53 men in his locker room to take the field with precisely the mentality Golden's describing. They've been doing it for years under this head coach, they continue do it, and there's never been a doubt in my mind as to where it originates.

I'll reiterate that the mistakes have been many, most of them indefensible. Particularly in the areas of talent assessment, procurement and development. But in the same breath, I've mostly appreciated, even outright applauded the persistent ability to identify the persona the Steelers have forever professed to seek. 

Such as the premier defensive player on the planet, undeterred in pursuing the quarterback even after having his helmet ripped from his head:

Such as his bookend partner, running up a sack, an absurd 11 pressures and his own nationwide notoriety:

"Alex Highsmith's a hell of a player," T.J. Watt, an authority on such stuff, would say after this. "I'm glad he's finally starting to get the recognition he's getting."

For sure, but the full context requires including that Highsmith was banged-up and tapping out throughout, which is why the edge-rushing backups, Golden and Nick Herbig, saw more snaps than the norm. 

That's the fight.

So's this:

That's Jaylen Warren making Elijah Molden one with our city's soil, part of an 11-carry, 88-yard tour de force befitting a Pittsburgh running back. 

When I asked Warren to walk me through the play where he really steamrollered some dude, his answer spoke volumes: "Which one?"

Undrafted. Fighting for every inch.

Najee Harris didn't have a bad day, either, with a 16-carry, 69-yard output underscored by this 10-yard touchdown:

But the long-beleaguered line does its job dynamically, left to right, no one more prominently than Isaac Seumalo, big No. 73 up there at left guard, with the monster pull to the right to knock Azeez Al-Shaair backward.

Seumalo's been a disappointment since signing a three-year, $24 million deal out of free agency this summer, which can become a fight unto itself. He arrived from Philadelphia with the reputation of being a steady blocker and a leader type, and he's had to prove himself all over again.

Not that he'd offer much on any of this when I brought up this sequence.

"Everyone did what they were supposed to do," he'd reply, perpetually super-serious.

Heck, the line's a fight unto itself. But zero sacks of Kenny Pickett, when he's playing through a busted rib, and 166 rushing yards revealed for me more positives about the line's collective character than ... honestly, any game all season. Mason Cole showed well. As did Dan Moore. And yeah, once again, as did Broderick Jones, finally allowed to start, fittingly, in place of Chuks Okorafor, who's idea of a fight far too often is one big shove followed by one big yawn.

There was an edge to the line. First time all season. I liked it.

This young man might've liked it, too:

Obviously not the best blocking up there, but it was penalized -- Jeffery Simmons isn't allowed to drop his full body weight on the quarterback -- and, more important, it was one of only two times Pickett was hit.

Which isn't to diminish the stones it takes to play football while feeling like one's being repeatedly stabbed. And this on a short week.

"No, no, no, I felt good," Pickett lied. "Shout out to our trainers."

Tomlin told the truth on that front, saying, "You know, nothing that he does from an intangible perspective or toughness perspective surprises me. I think we're all really comfortable in this qualities in him and his desire to rise up big in moments and be significant down the stretch. I can't say enough about it."

Maybe he should, since it's the best possible explanation for all of this.

Because when the Steelers took the ball with 9:13 left in the fourth quarter, down 16-13, they did so way back at their 8. And I'd bet anything that a big percentage of the 65,969 partisans on hand believed that, oh, sure, a 92-yard drive can happen here.

Which it did, culminating with, of all lunar-cycle events, Diontae Johnson's first touchdown since Bobby Layne found him in the end zone almost two full years ago:

OK, so maybe it was Ben Roethlisberger on the previous, but the point stands: It's been a minute.

"Oh, yeah, 655 days since I’ve scored," Johnson would say. "I saw it on Twitter today. I was like, 'Really? It’s been that long?' "

So long that Twitter no longer X-ists, right?

But talk about fight ... 

Johnson missed a month of this season to an aggravated hamstring injury, one that'd caused concern about a much longer absence at the time. A couple days later, he told me he'd be back sooner than expected, stronger than expected and that, even after a generally rough 2022 and within that a rough ride for being the one receiver with the ridiculous touchdown-free streak, he was still going to make something significant of 2023.

His three games since returning:

• Catches: 20
• Targets: 29
• Yards: 254
• Average play: 12.7
• First downs: 14
• Touchdown: Oh, for real

Cam Heyward came back earlier than expected, too, even though he'd have picked up another 10 days of rest/rehab following groin surgery by skipping this one. I'm not about to insult anyone's intelligence and lay out his intangibles, but he wound up with six tackles, one for a loss, and a ton of four-hands attention from the Tennessee line.

I'll instead call special attention to Cole Holcomb and the inside linebackers. 

Holcomb's knee was bent the wrong direction upon a friendly-fire collision with Keanu Neal. It was brutal. Not just because he's the team's top tackler. Not just because he's the only inside linebacker who'd seen regular deployment on third downs. But rather because he, Alexander and Elandon Roberts have formed a bit of a brotherhood in terms of bringing fire to the defense, and they'd been doing that since the first drills in Latrobe.

This loss, like pretty much everything I'm describing in this piece, will be mostly about the heart.

"That interception, that's for him," Alexander told me. "This whole season, we're committing to him."

Roberts pointed toward Holcomb's vacated stall and told me, "We feel like we became a good group with him, and we're going to keep that going. The best way to do that is to keep fighting."

Hm.

Fighting like this, one might presume:

With apologies to all others, that's my play of the game. For all the same reasons that Robert Spillane was vaulted into a locker-room legend for once standing up to Derrick Henry at the goal line in Nashville, here was Roberts taking on the role of immovable object to Henry's irresistible force.

I had to ask:

“I ain’t even gonna lie to you," Roberts began. "Somebody asked me this week how I felt about tackling him. I’m kinda like, ‘I mean, how does he feel about going against us?’ I’m just being honest with you. That was my mindset going into the game. Mike T. always talks about A-list players. I’m A-listing it right there. Everybody makes their mistakes, but when the game is on the line, I’m A-list."

Here again, I'm not about to argue.

"This team, man, we got something special," he'd add. "This was a big win tonight. We played a complete 60-minute game. All we could do is build off it.”

____________________

I know, I know. Everyone would rather see more missiles downfield, more splash and, for that matter, more stoutness. Once again, this outcome's no security blanket, and that still stands out, fair or not, once they're done.

Sit down for this gem from the Elias Sports Bureau: These Steelers are now just the 34th team in NFL history to be outgained by their opponent in each of their first eight games in a season, and no such team ever had a winning record ... until now.

Think that fits on a bumper sticker?

Like maybe ... BEST WORST TEAM EVER

More's needed. Better's needed.

As Pressley Harvin, who fought back himself from a two-shank stinker last week to boot the daylights out of the ball in this one, would tell me, "We have to use this to our advantage. We're proud. We're together. We're battling for everything we get. Next, we need to raise our floor so that we can raise our ceiling. We need to keep improving."

They did that here. Incrementally. Running game. Blocking. Some of the passing. Run-stopping. Pass coverage.

But I'm not about to ignore Golden, I'm not about to ignore all the other lessons above, and none of us is in any position to ignore the only statistics that truly count in any sporting context:

DKPS

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Team feed
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE IN-GAME INJURIES

• Steelers: ILB Cole Holcomb was carted off after a "serious" injury to his left knee late in the first quarter, per Tomlin. NT Montravius Adams (ankle) exited in the first quarter and didn't return.

• Titans: WR Treylon Burks was carted off after falling hard on his head trying to catch an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter. He'd have movement in all extremities and was "alert" afterward, per Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel. RT Nicholas Petit-Frere (shoulder) exited in the second quarter and didn't return.

Full report by Corey Crisan on our Steelers Feed.

THE INACTIVES

• Steelers: FS Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring), OT Dylan Cook, NT Armon Watts, NT Breiden Fehoko, QB Mason Rudolph (emergency)

• Titans: QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle), OT Chris Hubbard (concussion), WR Colton Dowell, CB Roger McCreary, OLB Caleb Murphy, DT Jaleel Johnson

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE SCHEDULE

Next one's at home, as well, a standard Sunday matinee against the Packers, Nov. 12 at Acrisure Stadium.

THE CONTENT

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