Two years ago, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was wrapping up his farewell tour, the Steelers stood in Week 18 with a mathematical chance at the postseason still.

They had just come off Ben’s final home game ever, a 26-14 win over the Cleveland Browns, and needed help in the final week to sneak into the tournament.

The 8-7-1 Steelers needed to win, on the road, in Baltimore, AND have the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts. It was a pleasant backdrop for Ben as he left Heinz Field for the final time in his 18-year NFL career; that maybe this wasn’t the last ride.

Still, no one expected the Steelers to actually get a ticket in. Even if they did win in Baltimore, the Jaguars in 2021 were 2-14, going up against a 9-7 Colts team who was in a “win and you’re in” situation.

But then, the impossible happened. The Jags had pulled off the miraculous upset, and pretty handedly might I add, 26-11. For Indy, it was absolutely stunning, and it opened the door for Pittsburgh to steal that final spot.

Since both games had kicked off at the same time, fans across Steelers Nation began to invest their emotions more and more into the Steelers-Ravens game after the Jags had pulled away with the lead.

With backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in for the Ravens (Lamar Jackson was injured), the game went to overtime tied at 13.

Hearts across Pittsburgh dropped as the Ravens won the OT coin toss and got the ball first, but a strong defense powered by the Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 forced a punt from Baltimore.

Then, in almost a storybook type fashion, Big Ben makes one last game winning drive possible, putting together a 65-yard drive to put Chris Boswell in field goal range.

With a swift sweep of his leg, Boswell sent Pittsburgh into the tournament, securing the 7-seed in the AFC (this was the second season in the expanded playoff format).

It was a huge moment for Steelers fans, who got to re-live the glory days with a Roethlisberger rally one last time. At the same time, the Ben farewell tour was extended, now adding a stop in Kansas City to face the 2-seed Chiefs.

While their fight at the end of the year was seen as admirable, it was widely accepted around the NFL world that Pittsburgh’s presence was merely symbolic. No one gave them a fighting chance against the Chiefs at Arrowhead. Instead, they predicted an absolute slaughter of the Steelers, and said that the tour would conclude here at the hands of Patrick Mahomes.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com predicted a blowout. Adam Teicher of ESPN said that if Mahomes was Mahomes, Pittsburgh’s chances were “nonexistent.” They were given the lowest chance at a Super Bowl at 0.3% (tied with the Philadelphia Eagles).

But even locally, not many fans had any real hope in the Steelers having any chance that year.

Maybe it was the uninspiring play on offense for the vast majority of the season.

Maybe it was the 36-10 thrashing they had received by the Chiefs less than a month prior.

Maybe it was the team’s quarterback publicly suggesting that his team isn’t really that good, and should just go out there and have fun because they probably don’t deserve to be in the playoffs anyways.

(While I’m sure the quote was intended to help his team embrace the underdog identity they were given, that had little impact on the team or the fans as Sunday Night approached.)

Whatever the real reason was, there was an existential dread for this game, one that was sure to embarrass the Steelers in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football.

I watched this game from a hotel room in Florida, and had to let out cautious cheers of pure joy when TJ Watt recovered a fumble and ran it into the endzone, giving Pittsburgh the first points of the game and a 7-0 lead.

Kansas City may have won the game, but they could never take away the 7-0 lead we had over them.

In the end, what everyone had expected to happen had indeed happened. Kansas City put a harsh end to Ben’s career, beating the Steelers 42-21 to advance. And honestly, that score is misleading; the game was far worse than that score indicates.

Now, two years later, the Steelers find themselves in a rather similar scenario. In Week 18, needing help to get in. Doing their part (winning), and getting help from a 9-7 “win and you’re in” team collapsing to an inferior opponent (this sequel had Jacksonville swap roles and stumble out of the playoffs).

They also find themselves as the 7-seed again, subjected to a trip to Buffalo to face the Bills at Orchard Park.

Once again, no one is giving them a real chance. They are nearly 10-point underdogs against Josh Allen and the Bills.

They have also experienced an absolute beatdown by their upcoming opponent in recent time. Last season, the Bills handed the Steelers their worst loss since 1989, killing them 38-3.

Virtually everything is the same this time around, except one thing: the Steelers believe in themselves.

That’s despite TJ Watt being ruled out with injury. That’s despite the team missing several key players on defense other than Watt. That’s despite being down to their third string quarterback.

Actually, that third string quarterback has been the team’s MVP the last three weeks. Since coming into the fold, Mason Rudolph has went 3-0 with the Steelers, and recorded a passer rating of 110+ in all three of his games.

Perhaps if he was starting all year, or at least as soon as Kenny Pickett went down, the Steelers would be a lot higher up than a 7-seed.

But in any sense, there is real hope in this town this time around. You can feel the energy in the city; people are actually excited for this game. I didn’t know a single Steelers fan who was excited two years ago at this time.

Rudolph is playing considerably better football than Roethlisberger was down the stretch for the Steelers, as crazy as that sounds.

The team has an incredible one-two punch at running back with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Harris was here (as a rookie) in 2021, but Warren was not.

The Steelers also have better weapons in the passing game. With all due respect to RayRay McCloud (who is one of my all time favorite Steelers), there is a better wide receiver wearing 14 for the Steelers now: George Pickens.

But more importantly, the team has bought in this time around. Whether it is sane or not, they actually believe they can do it, that they can knock off the Bills in Buffalo.

Rookie Broderick Jones says he and the team are rejecting what any outsider thinks of them.

Najee Harris says they are excited for the opportunity, despite the anticipated terrible weather.

But the best of all comes from Dan Moore Jr., who sums up my piece perfectly.

“I sense more of a confidence of ‘we can go in and really win this thing’” he said. “As opposed to the last time we went in there, it was kinda ‘let’s see what happens’.”

Whether it’s right or not, this team believes. And it’s contagious. Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.

If only the other half were as easy.

(Featured photo by Karl Roser/Steelers)