The Tomlin Jūju: Week 18 Picks

The Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said, "Falling down is not failure. Refusing to rise is." 

Pittsburgh has been spending most of the season falling down and then getting back up. On reflection, they seem to have been in that mode since 2020, when they went 12-4, and promptly exited the playoffs.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has been the constant in Pittsburgh since 2007 and it is well known that he's never had a losing season. His defenses have been the calling card of the team.

Typically, they have been talented, tough, and excellent in turnover margin. Having a bona fide franchise player like Ben Roethlisberger certainly made winning easier. But his last good season as a quarterback came in 2018. 

What kind of voodoo Tomlin has been able to conjure these past five seasons to maintain his winning record in the post-Roethlisberger era?His secret may lay in his ability to get the best out of his players, especially the ones at the end of their career, or with troubled personalities.

His front office has failed to secure a franchise quarterback since Roethlisberger retired, but pundits believe that Tomlin could be fired if he misses the playoffs. He hasn't been able to get past the Wild Card round since 2017.

Maybe it’s time for a change, but the Greek Uncles in Chicago don’t think so. We listened to Tomlin on the mid-season version of Hard Knocks last year and concluded that maybe we should quote him instead of the Ancient Greek philosophers: “The standard is the standard” is pure, simple, and genius.

Other favorites include “excuses are tools of the incompetent,” and “we don’t live in our fears.” 

The Greek Uncles in Chicago don't live in our fears so we are taking Pittsburgh (+4.5) at home against the Ravens in a loser goes home matchup. When these teams play each other and the line is 3 points or more, the underdog is 24-5-3 against the spread. Tomlin is 14-4-2 in his career as an underdog getting 3 points or more.

The Steelers offense is about as unimaginative as when Aunt Tula would cook the spaghetti noodles inside the sauce, but they do expect to get T.J. Watt back from a frightening lung infection tonight. That’s it. There is not much football analysis out there to help the Steelers. They are injured and their best receiver is suspended for striking a fan two weeks ago, but, like we said, Tomlin finds a way.

Take Tennessee (+13.5) to continue its youth movement against the Jaguars and the Bengals (-7.5) to trounce the Browns. See you in the playoffs!

Last Week 2-1

Season 27-23