Last week, we couldn’t even get “on the same page” about whether or not George Pickens and Russell Wilson were “on the same page” about being “on the same page.”

Last question to George Pickens was about the his role in the end zone interception vs. the Chiefs.His response (or non-response): pic.twitter.com/cBppAWfQOK

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) January 2, 2025

Well, now we’ve moved on to whether or not the Steelers “need a clean slate” heading into the playoffs after finishing the regular season 0-4.

Head coach Mike Tomlin may have unintentionally opened that can of worms during his postgame comments following Saturday’s 19-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He was asked about how the club was planning to put four straight losses behind itself and “go clean slate” into the postseason.

“I don’t know that you ‘go clean slate.’ You better learn from these lessons,” Tomlin said. “We’re a mentally tough group. It’s OK to learn from these lessons and remember the things that created this.”

Wilson took the podium a few moments later. Likely unaware of his coach’s quote, Wilson advanced a different opinion.

“You step in the playoffs, it’s a new slate. It’s a new opportunity. That’s just the truth. That’s just the reality of what it is,” Wilson said.

Cameron Heyward followed Wilson at the microphone. He neither endorsed nor refuted the need for a clean slate. He merely acknowledged that one existed.

“We’ve got to be complementary — offense, defense, special teams. That’s where we thrive,” Heyward said. “Slate is clean. They don’t remember your record once you get to the playoffs.”

Hmm. It doesn’t seem like anyone is “on the same page” about the importance of how clean this slate is.

I guess the semantics don’t matter. The sentiment does, though, and I’m going to agree with Tomlin on this one.

The Steelers haven’t earned the privilege of being able to wipe the slate clean after that finish to the regular season. They’ve got to stew in it for a while. That result has to sink in and sting.

Getting a clean slate at 10-4 after being trounced 27-13 in Philadelphia on Dec. 15? Now, that would’ve been warranted if they had performed better against Baltimore. But they lost there by a score of 34-17 on Dec. 21. Then they dropped a 29-10 decision to Kansas City.

That’s getting outscored 90-40 over 11 days before ringing in the new year with just 17 points against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

Tomlin’s right. The Steelers don’t get a clean slate after that. The fans aren’t going to give them one. The media better not.

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Most importantly, Tomlin’s staff shouldn’t. His assistant coaches should be taping open the eyelids of the players and forcing them to watch game film like a scene from “A Clockwork Orange.” Maybe they’ll be repulsed by it and develop a collective aversion to how they’ve played for the past few weeks.

The Steelers need to remember how to tackle better, force punts, pressure the passer, get turnovers and cover the tight ends on defense.

They have to block better along the line and rediscover the run game on offense. Wilson has to start making better decisions and has to avoid turnovers. He needs to start finding Calvin Austin again and regain chemistry with Pickens.

The special teams units could block another kick, execute a fake, and cover a few kickoffs cleanly.

This team did all of those things against weak and moderate competition over the first 13 weeks. It couldn’t replicate anything positive against Cincinnati or the NFL’s elite.

I don’t care what they do with the slate from the past four weeks. Just find the one from late November and get a refresher on what they were doing right.

If they want to bust out the old Etch A Sketch and shake away something, make it Arthur Smith’s game plan for the game against the Bengals last week. No one needs to see that again.

Ever.

“It’s important that we take the lessons learned from the last month,” Tomlin said Monday. “Unfortunately, you probably learn more when there’s failure.”

Agreed. Based on how December went, Tomlin’s players have quite the syllabus to comb through between now and Saturday night.

Hopefully, they come out with master’s degrees from those classes and put a better product on the field against the Ravens in their first-round playoff game.

If they don’t, whatever is carved on that slate we keep hearing about is going to remain there until training camp next summer.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Chris Adamski preview Saturday’s Steelers-Ravens playoff game.

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