So many people wrote off the Pittsburgh Steelers before a regular season snap was played. And to be fair, this happens every year. It’s a cycle at this point. Everyone projects the Steelers to lose more games than they win and miss the playoffs, the Steelers win at least nine games, “Wow, Mike Tomlin does it again,” and then the cycle repeats the following year.

And while I’ve been as loud of a critic of Tomlin as anyone over the last handful of years, it can’t be denied how impressive he has been in 2024. And not just when it comes to winning games – this dates all the way back to his end-of-season press conference where he acknowledged that changes needed to be made to win games and a good number of people (myself included) rolled their eyes and took it as lip service. But as soon as the new league year started, the Steelers began cutting the fat off their steak.

They traded away wide receiver Diontae Johnson in exchange for a Day Three draft pick and cornerback Donte Jackson. How’d that work out? Well, Johnson has since been traded again and Jackson has three interceptions this season. The Steelers also cut bait with long-time poor players Pressley Harvin, Mason Cole, and Mitch Trubisky the second that they could.

Of course, the biggest moves the Steelers made was at the quarterback position. They signed Russell Wilson quite literally in the opening seconds of free agency. Shortly after, they shipped Kenny Pickett across the state to Philadelphia and acquired Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears. Adding the signings of Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott to bolster the defense all backed up what Tomlin, general manager Omar Khan, and team president Art Rooney II preached – they wanted to get better and win in the playoffs.

The season wouldn’t come without adversity, though. Troy Fautanu and Isaac Seumalo both suffered injuries ahead of the regular season. Seumalo returned after three weeks, but Fautanu suffered another injury that will keep him out for the regular season. Zach Frazier also got hurt, forcing the Steelers to go through several different iterations of linemen combinations before the halfway point of the season. And in spite of all of that, the Steelers started the year 4-2 with Justin Fields under center after Russell Wilson was healing up from a calf injury, and then won their first two games with Wilson under center to get to 6-2 and hold sole possession of the AFC North lead heading into the bye week.

When you look at the Steelers’ numbers this season, they are over-performing on offense, considering the lack of weapons they have behind George Pickens at receiver. Pittsburgh is averaging 23.4 points per game thus far – almost six points more than the 17.9 they averaged in 2023. They are 13th in EPA per play, as well on offense. And if you really want to focus in on how they’ve played since Wilson took over, they have been fantastic. Over the last two weeks, They are averaging 31.5 points per game, 417.5 yards per game, and are seventh in EPA per play – this offense is more than just passable, it is good.

That also circles back to the offseason when the Steelers basically cleaned house on the offensive coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has done a remarkable job getting the offense to put up points and win games with two different quarterbacks who play two different styles of football. Quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni have been very welcome improvements and additions to the coaching staff, as well. All of it comes back around to Mike Tomlin for recognizing the issues at hand. All be it, these changes came a couple years after they should have been made. Regardless, though, Tomlin has done an incredible job with a quarterback situation that almost no one nationally thought would work. And it’s not just working, the Steelers are thriving. There is a very real chance they hold onto the division lead from now until January and host a playoff game for the first time since the 2020 season. And while their goals are bigger than just hosting a playoff game, it would be hard to argue that Tomlin shouldn’t be the Coach of the Year should that be the result of their season. Regardless of how you feel about Tomlin, this season has been some of his finest work.