Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said something that stood out to me during his Tuesday press conference in advance of his team’s playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Well, two things.

First of all, Tomlin claimed that he “dozed off” during the nail-biting overtime game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

You know, the one that was going to decide his team’s playoff fate if it ended in a tie? The one that was knotted up at 32-32 in overtime with two seconds left? The one that ended with Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal at the buzzer to break the tie and send Tomlin’s squad to the postseason?

You fell asleep during that game, Mike? I couldn’t make myself fall asleep until 4 a.m.!

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Tomlin is messing with us on that one. As a competition committee member, my guess is Tomlin wanted nothing to do with a dozen follow-up questions asking for his opinion on how the game was coached, if the NFL should eliminate ties, or if the league should do away with night games like that during the last regular-season week.

What better way to do that than claim he dozed off, so he doesn’t have to say anything more about it?

Either that or the guy genuinely went to sleep with the Raiders up 15 points and didn’t see how it ended.

The other thing that Tomlin said which raised my interest was his expansive statement about how “comfortable” he has become during games in which the Steelers have faced adverse circumstances.

“I think we’re collectively getting comfortable in many circumstances where we’re most uncomfortable,” Tomlin said. “I think we’ve been hardened by this process. It hasn’t been an easy journey for us, and I think that we’re getting comfortable with being in scenarios. And so, I think we see those scenarios clearly. I think we’re able to communicate in the midst of some of that. I think we’re able to execute individually and collectively because of that experience and so, hopefully, that helps us as we proceed into the playoffs.”

Personally, the last word I’d use to describe how I’ve felt during much of this season watching the Steelers is “comfortable.”

Then again, I was the one who was mainlining melatonin after Chargers-Raiders while Tomlin was (allegedly) counting sheep.

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Actually, I wonder if the Steelers have maybe gotten too comfortable being in those second half, dire situations. The Steelers have trailed in the second half in 10 of their last 11 games. Plus, the game before that stretch was an overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

Instead of being comfortable charging back late in games, they should try having that kind of urgency out of the gates. Perhaps, get off to a good start for a change?

Yes, the Steelers have engineered six fourth-quarter comeback victories this year. One tie. And a fourth-quarter comeback before they eventually lost against the Chargers.

So I get Tomlin’s point. When things look bleak, his team doesn’t fold.

At least against teams that missed the playoffs. Six of those eight fourth quarter comebacks occurred against teams that failed to make the postseason.

Conversely, when it comes to playoff teams, Tomlin’s players have faced deficits of at least nine points after halftime against the Packers, Chiefs, Raiders, Bills, Titans and Bengals (twice).

Five of those seven games ended in losses with none staying within one score. The average margin of defeat was 18 points.

The two notable exceptions were victories against the Titans and Bills, both AFC division winners. Tomlin’s team came back from 10 points down to beat both of those opponents.

Now, if Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense would be so kind as to turn over the ball four times like Tennessee did (or even three times like Baltimore did Sunday), I might find myself closer to Tomlin’s level of comfort.

I understand Tomlin’s greater goal. He’s message-sending to his players with that quote. He didn’t make those statements so those of us in the media would nod our heads in agreement. He said what he did so his players would hear it.

And believe it. Even if those outside the locker room may not.

Tomlin knows how this game in Kansas City may go. He knows the talent his players are facing. He knows the Chiefs may go up two or three touchdowns as they did on Dec. 26. This time he wants them to storm back as they did against the Vikings and Chargers, two opponents that built massive leads against the Steelers, only to see them evaporate and melt into one-score margins.

The problem is, the Steelers lost both those games eventually anyway.

So Tomlin can talk about his team being comfortable in the face of adversity all he wants. The Chiefs are two-time defending AFC champions. They are highly capable of making things even more uncomfortable for the Steelers than they did in the first meeting, when K.C. won by 26 points.

Tight end Travis Kelce was on the covid list for that game. Fellow All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill was still recovering from his stint on it. Thinking about what the Chiefs may do to the Steelers with those two in gear should give Tomlin extreme discomfort.

And keep him up at night.

Overall, I agree with Tomlin’s comments. His team has battled. In most games, their level of effort has stayed high even when the deck was stacked against them.

However, they just may not be good enough to climb out of a big hole against the talented Chiefs. So they shouldn’t feel comfortable digging one for themselves in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium.

There’s a difference between comfortable and comfortably numb.

Or, in the case of the Steelers if they lose, comfortably done.

In Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Tim Benz and Joe Rutter talk about how the Steelers scrapped their way into the playoffs and the upcoming postseason rematch against Kansas City.

Listen: Tim Benz and Joe Rutter talk about how the Steelers-Chiefs matchup in the Wild Card round

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