Jan 4, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – There were more long faces than usual in the Steelers’ locker room Saturday night following the season-ending loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC wild-card game.

When a season comes to an end, there’s typically plenty of sadness and wondering about what the future holds.

But for these Steelers, the 30-17 loss could have marked the end of an era as the final pieces of what was once one of the most feared defenses in the NFL likely played their final game at Heinz Field.

Many of the members of those defenses, which helped the Steelers win a pair of Super Bowls (2005 and ’08) and went to another (2010) had already left. But James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor remained.

At least through Saturday.

That is why, when many of the younger players spoke of the finality of this season, they spoke as if they were at a wake.

“This team is not going to be the same next year and it breaks my heart,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said while fighting back tears. “I don’t know what this team is going to look like. I just appreciate everything they’ve done. It’s just tough to think about.”

Yes, it’s tough, but it’s a critical part of any kind of rebirth the Steelers might hope to have.

There is no discounting the contributions of those four players. They’ve been consummate professionals, each in their own unique way.

But each is just a shadow of their former self. Keisel went down a month ago with a season-ending arm injury. Taylor suffered a broken forearm in Week 3. Harrison and Polamalu also dealt with injuries.

“Sooner or later, the reaper will catch up with you,” Taylor said of the injuries. “I just sucks that it happened this year and it happened a lot.”

While their play wasn’t up to that of previous years, having those four veteran players around did have an effect. They helped serve as a bridge from past great teams to what the Steelers hope will be future great ones.

“I believe it’s taken a step forward. We came through. We got the (AFC) North title,” Harrison said. “We took a step back as far as our play from previous weeks. But in the whole scheme of things, from last year to this year, it’s obvious we made steps in the right direction.

“You’ve got a young team. Hopefully, it can do nothing but continue to grow as guys learn to be professionals, learn to be Steelers. It’s a mindset, it’s a work ethic, a determination.”

And perhaps that is what this current group of Steelers learned the most. After back-to-back .500 seasons that ended without playoff appearances, this team did get some valuable postseason experience, even if it was a short stay.

That could pay some dividends down the road.

“Yeah, I guess so,” said linebacker Jason Worilds, who will be an unrestricted free agent. “When I think back to two years ago, it was a different team. I think this team has a different feel to it. For us to go through some ups and downs together, it’s only going to help.”

It might not feel like that today. It might not even feel like that tomorrow or the next day. But at some point these Steelers might be able to look back on this game and this season fondly as the turning point of something bigger.

In that respect, Polamalu might have offered some sage advice as he perhaps heads to the end of his career.

“Sometimes you have to pay your dues,” he said. “The Super Bowl teams I’ve been a part of, it wasn’t the first time we made the playoffs that we won the Super Bowl. We went to the AFC Championship (in 2004) and lost. People have different reactions to those adversities and our team grew from that. We had a bad season in 2007, and then in 2008 we came back and won a Super Bowl.

“(That’s) not to say this is the same group of guys, but this is a hard lesson for us to learn and hopefully grow from.”

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.