The swagger, the calm, the certainty inside the Steelers locker room was palpable back in January 2018. One of the NFL's most treasured franchises was on the verge of a seventh Lombardi Trophy. You could feel it. Sense it.
Practically everywhere you looked was a future Hall of Famer. Ben Roethlisberger and Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. All at the peak of their powers. After a 13-3 regular season, these Steelers undoubtedly had the talent to first vanquish the imposters that were the Jaguars, then slay Tom Brady and the Patriots, then win the Super Bowl.