The only way a season ever comes to an end gracefully is if you’re hoisting a trophy after the last whistle blows. The Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 don’t even get a participation trophy, even though they got the win on their last day of the season.
Unfortunately for them, they are one of the 18 teams whose season is now over, while the other 14 teams are still promised at least one more. Some will have three more games to play, if not four, and one will raise the Lombardi Trophy.
Pittsburgh? “It’s like a birthday party without the cake”, rookie wide receiver George Pickens described the feeling of winning on the last day of the season but failing to make the playoffs, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.