Tim Benz: Reestablishing 'the standard' for ascending Steelers — and let's remember it all the way through January

Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers are giddy in anticipation of the opening game for the 2023 season on Sept. 10.

Based on how the preseason went, they should be.

Not only did the club win all three of its games, but the first-team offense sparkled under the direction of the clearly improving Kenny Pickett. With him at quarterback, that unit scored a touchdown all five times it touched the ball during games this month.

When most of the first-team defense played together against the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons over the past two games, they blanked both clubs.

Even the special teams sprinkled some splashy returns into the mix along with steady place kicking and punts that were frequently downed deep in opposing territory.

Free agency was good. We all loved the draft. The offseason was drama-free. And training camp went well, resulting in no significant injuries to top of the roster players.

“We’ve improved on a lot of things,” Pickett said after a 24-0 win in Atlanta on Thursday night. “We have a long season ahead. We have some great teams coming up. But I think we’re in the right direction after having this preseason.”

Agreed. It feels like big things may happen once the regular season kicks off. No one in Pittsburgh wants to remind themselves that the Steelers went 3-0 in the preseason last year too. Then they began the year 2-6 and eventually missed the playoffs at 9-8.

Let’s not dwell on that, though. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade.

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But I also don’t want to get in the habit of throwing parades in August. I prefer to see them in February.

For the most part, I’m with the Steelers fanbase in its enthusiasm. Maybe not to the degree of some of the wild 13- to 15-win projections I’ve been hearing on sports talk radio. But a lot of the things this franchise sold us on during the offseason seem to be coming to fruition.

The free-agent acquisitions and young draft picks are good fits. As hoped, the offense has opened up with Pickett heading into Year 2. He appears to have accelerated his own learning curve. The rest of the team looks deeper and more versatile on both sides of the ball.

If that’s all true, and we are all to believe that seven months of offseason theory is now operational based on an eye-opening preseason, let’s hold the Steelers to it.

Let’s reestablish that Pittsburgh Steelers “standard” that owner Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and his players keep referencing, but have so rarely lived up to over the past 12 seasons — 10 of which have ended without a playoff win.

I don’t just mean those tied to the organization itself. I mean us too. The Terrible Towel twirling masses in the fan base, along with the ink-stained wretches, microphone jockeys, talking heads, social media cowboys and bloggers who comment on the team for a living.

We need to reestablish that standard as well.

If you are now predicting 11 or 12 wins and the team’s first playoff win since 2016, hold them to it. If you are thinking 13 wins and unseating the Cincinnati Bengals atop the AFC North, write it down. Take it to the betting window at the local casino.

If you think adjusted expectations should include the possibility that this team should at least get to, or win, the Super Bowl, then book the trip to Las Vegas now. Hotel rooms are already getting pricey.

Frankly, I think winning 10 games and getting back to the playoffs in a tough AFC is a rung on the ladder this team can legitimately reach.

Maybe, finally, winning a playoff game again? Perhaps. Anything else would be gravy. If you want to dream bigger than that, don’t let me stop you. You may turn out to be right.

However, if it doesn’t happen, let’s not do what we’ve so often done lately around these parts. Let’s not crow and pound our chests about how good the team looks in August, and then, in January, if the season ends with only nine wins and no playoff victories, say everything is OK because “don’t yinz know, Mike Tomlin has still never had a losing season?”

Let’s avoid using injuries as an excuse again if Pickett or Cam Heyward or T.J. Watt go down for an extended stretch. If this team is really as deep and well constructed as we keep insisting it is, the depth should be able to sustain success.

San Francisco went to last year’s NFC Championship game with its third quarterback. The Eagles won the Super Bowl recently, turning to Nick Foles at quarterback. During their dynasty the Patriots won a ring after losing Rob Gronkowski and once won 11 games with Matt Cassel at quarterback.

That’s what real depth can do. If the Steelers really have it, it’ll probably be tested over the next five months.

Should it fail, let’s not sweep another mediocre result under the rug by saying, “Well, we’re just fortunate to be in it every year. What would it have been like if you rooted for (fill in the blank bad franchise — the Browns, Jets, Lions, Commanders) the past 10 years?”

If we are going to spend the next 17 days telling the world how great the Steelers are going to be and how blind they all are at ESPN and Fox and the NFL Network if they don’t see it, then let’s not spend the next 12 months talking ourselves into reasons why it’s OK that they languished in the middle of the standings again if we end up being wrong.

After the win in Atlanta, Tomlin said of his passing game, “We’ve done it in practice. So I expect to see it in stadiums.”

He’s right. That’s how we should be evaluating the Steelers 2023 regular season overall. Tomlin’s team did an excellent job of raising anticipation this summer.

The next part of that is also expecting them to live up to that “standard” all the way through the winter.