Running back and team MVP Kenny Gainwell is one of the few players in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room who has a Super Bowl ring, earning one last season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
While the Eagles were the No. 2 seed and had a 14-3 record in the regular season, Gainwell sees similarities with the Steelers, who enter the postseason Monday night with a 10-7 record and No. 4 seed.
“I feel the same vibes,” Gainwell said. “We’re a connected team. We bond together. We do everything. That is going to take us to the next level. If we stick together, offense playing for the defense and the defense playing for the offense, it can take us a long way.”
The 2024 Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders to reach the Super Bowl, where they dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in a 40-22 victory. Gainwell, though, is careful to push what he learned last year onto his teammates.
“I let these guys learn for themselves,” he said. “At the same time, it’s about the guys that have been there teaching them and showing them what we can do.”
The Steelers won four of their final five games to claim the AFC North title and a home playoff game in the wild-card round. He sensed a turnaround in the team’s demeanor about the same time the Steelers’ fortunes changed. He has seen a loose, upbeat team in the past month or so.
“If you’re uptight, you tend to make mistakes,” he said. “You don’t want to make mistakes. You want to be free and go out there and have fun. That comes with the game. I’m happy to see everybody with high energy. That shows we’re ready to go out there and get a win.”
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey is another newcomer to the Steelers who won a championship elsewhere. Ramsey won a Super Bowl with the Rams after the 2021 season.
“It’s different for every team I’ve been on,” said Ramsey, who has appeared in 10 career postseason games. “I don’t like to compare and contrast that way. Urgency, consistency, communication are a few things you need.”
In 2017, his second NFL season, Ramsey was with the Jacksonville Jaguars when they stunned the Steelers, 45-42, in a divisional round game at Acrisure Stadium. That marked the first of five one-and-done trips for the Steelers in the postseason.
“We just don’t take the playoffs for granted,” Ramsey said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a burden. A lot of us who haven’t been here, I can’t speak for what it was like in the past. I can only focus on what we have to do on Monday night.”
Shutdown situation
One of the top matchups will pit Texans Pro Bowl receiver Nico Collins against Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who takes an impressive streak into the game.
Porter hasn’t allowed a touchdown while he has been the primary coverage corner since Week 8 of his rookie season in 2023. That run has exceeded 1,000 coverage snaps.
Collins, meantime, caught 71 passes for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns this season. He led the Texans in receiving yardage, marking the third year in a row he topped 1,000, and he tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions while ranking second in catches. Collins was rewarded by being named to the Pro Bowl roster for the second year in a row.
“When I get my moments with him, that’s what I look for,” Porter said. “Everybody knows that since coming into the league I look for those matchups, and I get to have one in a playoff game. I’m excited for it.”
Porter led the Steelers with 14 pass breakups in the regular season, and he had one interception. In addition to getting paired twice each year against Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase and Zay Flowers inside the AFC North, he faced some of the NFC’s top receivers in Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson.
Next up is Collins. Porter wasn’t yet a starter when the Steelers faced Houston in Week 4 of the 2023 season and Collins torched them for seven catches, 168 yards and two touchdowns.
“I don’t really rank (top receivers) too much,” Porter said. “There are so many elite guys in this league, and he’s definitely elite, in my opinion. It’s going to bring noise, and it’s going to put my name on the map even more.”