Steelers don’t plan on anything different
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Steelers became the first AFC team since the league went to a 16-game schedule to compile a 15-1 record with Sunday’s 29-24 win at Buffalo, but the team vowed not to let their lofty status affect how they prepare for the upcoming playoffs. “We’re proud of the fact that we won 15 games,” linebacker Joey Porter said. “But we have a lot more to accomplish. What we proved today was that it doesn’t matter what the situation is, when you’re playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, we’re going to play one way, 110 percent on every play. That’s what we established this season and now we have to carry it over into the playoffs.
“Going 15-1 is a great accomplishment, but the real season starts in two weeks.”
“It’s good to go out on a winning note and still be able to rest some people,” guard Alan Faneca said.
“But going 15-1 doesn’t mean anything to us right now. It might be nice to look at in the offseason, but not tonight, not now.”
The players refused to admit that they are favorites to win Super Bowl XXXIX next month, allowing themselves only the luxury of enjoying another win for a couple of days before preparing for the playoff opener.
“We’ll take a couple of days off, then work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, one day each on a different opponent,” coach Bill Cowher said.
The Steelers will host the lowest remaining seed on Jan. 15 or 16. That means they will not play Indianapolis in the first round and they won’t meet No. 2 seed New England, but could face any of the other playoff teams.
If Denver upsets the Colts, the Broncos would come to Pittsburgh for the divisional round. If the Colts win, the Steelers would host the winner of the Jets at Chargers game.
So the team will spend a day each preparing for Denver, San Diego and the Jets.
But instead of dwelling on any of that, the Steelers vow to approach the playoffs just as they approached the regular season.
“Everything we’ve been through, whether it was injuries, a rookie quarterback, penalties during a game, will help us out in the end,” Faneca said.
There really hasn’t been a situation the Steelers haven’t encountered, except losing. That’s one thing they haven’t experienced since their Week 2 loss at Baltimore. Fifteen weeks and 14 games later, here they are, at the doorstep of the playoffs.
How did they get here from there? One step at a time, one play at a time, one game at a time.
“For us, it’s all about believing in each other,” wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. “And taking it one game at a time.”
“I’m not going to say that we don’t like where we are – it’s definitely a good feeling – but it won’t mean a lot if we don’t carry it through,” Farrior said. “This is not the time to be thinking about how we got here. We just want to keep it going and the best way to do that is to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“It’s really all about us staying focused, not getting ahead of ourselves. The character of this team is outstanding.”
Farrior added that he believed even back in training camp that this team could be special, but he never imagined it would go 15-1.
“No, that would be a stretch,” he said. “But I knew we had a lot of talent on this team. We didn’t really think at all about what our record would be. We just wanted to go out and play.”
“Today, like a lot of times this season, we depended on a lot of young guys to step up and make plays,” Porter said. “They came through again today for us and we got the win. But that doesn’t surprise us anymore. We all prepare the same, like we’re all going to play every snap of every game.
“But it’s always about one game at a time, that’s what this season has proven. When we play the first playoff game, that’s all that’s going to matter.”
Cowher was asked if he expected more from a Buffalo team that was on a roll and needed a win to make the playoffs, especially against what the questioner termed a bunch of backups. Cowher bristled at the suggestion that his reserves are anything less than good football players.
“This whole season has been a collective effort,” Cowher said. “We got our share of bounces and we had some balls fall into our laps along the way, but we earned everything we got. And we did it as a team.”
That approach should be enough to carry the Steelers, at least for one more game. To them, that’s all that matters now.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com