Their season on the brink, the Steelers did what they always do under Mike Tomlin: Push back

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers was smiling. But he wasn't kidding.

Not long after a 27-22 victory over Baltimore on Sunday in which the Pittsburgh Steelers somehow pulled themselves back from the brink, their future Hall of Fame quarterback did what he's done in his unique (if occasionally self-serving) way over and over through the years.

He stared at the elephant in the room, reached out, and shook its hand.

“Maybe you guys will shut the hell up for a week,” Rodgers said after the Steelers wrested back control of the AFC North with three hours of passionate if not always precise football that likely slowed — but hardly stopped — speculation about coach Mike Tomlin's long-term future in Pittsburgh.

This is what Tomlin teams do, what they have done really, throughout his 19 years with the Steelers.

A spate of lifeless play for a myriad of reasons — injuries, indifference, age, poor game plans, etc. — will nudge them toward the edge of collapse, the kind that happens almost everywhere else across the NFL but seemingly never in Pittsburgh.

Then, just as quickly, the Steelers will push back from the brink. The resolve they've lacked will return. Their coach's belief — which tends to tilt toward willful and sometimes infuriating stubbornness when things get sideways for any length of time — that “the answers are in the building," as he said after his team was pounded at home by Buffalo on the last day of November and the call for his firing echoed throughout Acrisure Stadium, will be validated.

This is what makes Tomlin such a compelling figure. The man who now has 190 regular-season victories — tied with Dan Reeves for 10th on the NFL's all-time list — has never had his team let go of the rope.

The nine men in front of the 53-year-old Tomlin on that list — six of whom are in the Hall of Fame and two of whom (Bill Belichick and Andy Reid) will be — have all endured the sting of losing seasons and painful rebuilds. Most of them were shown the door at least once.

Not Tomlin. Not yet anyway. And maybe not anytime soon.

While there's still every chance this season will be the one that finally gets away from the Steelers (7-6), there's also every chance that, despite their myriad of shortcomings, they will find a way to win a highly flawed division and host a playoff game for the first time since 2020.

The next four weeks are filled with landmines. Pittsburgh could stumble into every one of them. Or maybe the recipe they relied on in Baltimore — a suddenly revived downfield passing game, a well-timed turnover and the ability to take advantage of a couple of 50/50 calls that went their way — will prove sustainable.

The noise the Steelers are intent on tuning out will persist regardless. The only thing they have control of is the volume.

On the first Sunday in December, they grabbed the knob, cranked it to the left, and exited a place that had served as their own personal house of horrors of late with first place in hand.

Perhaps just as importantly, they showed — as they have time and again over the last 19 years — that they have their seemingly forever embattled coach's back.

“‘Coach T’ is a great leader for us, and he’s done nothing but take the bullets for us,” wide receiver DK Metcalf said. “Even when we were high or when we were low, every day he’s steady (and) always motivated us to play our best ball."

Playing modern NFL football. The Steelers had gone more than a month without completing a downfield pass of more than 20 yards when Rodgers hit a streaking Metcalf for 52 yards on Pittsburgh's first offensive snap. Rodgers later extended a play and bought enough time to find Calvin Austin III for 31 yards. A little aggressiveness could go a long way for a team that had become far too safe and predictable during its midseason swoon.

The run defense remains an issue, with no quick fix coming. The Steelers have given up 157 yards rushing per game over the last five weeks and now must face the surging Dolphins (6-7), who are averaging 192 yards on the ground during their current four-game winning streak.

Rodgers' 42-year-old legs. The NFL's oldest player appeared to enter a time machine for about 10 seconds or so during a broken play in the second quarter when he tucked the ball and beat a pair of defenders to the corner for the 37th rushing touchdown of his career.

Idle speculation. For all the airtime and words dedicated to the seemingly endless debate on Tomlin's job status, the reality is the Steelers have given zero indication in nearly 19 years since they plucked him from relative obscurity and named him as Bill Cowher's replacement that they've seen enough. And so it goes.

It's telling of the physical nature of the rivalry that tight end Darnell Washington, left tackle Andrus Peat, and inside linebacker Malik Harrison all exited with concussions.

5 — wins by the Steelers against Baltimore's Lamar Jackson. Only Kansas City has beaten the two-time MVP as many times during his career.

Try to push their home winning streak on Monday Night Football to 23 straight when the Dolphins visit Acrisure Stadium on Dec. 15.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) celebrates after a tackle during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) catches a pass against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins (2) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) celebrates with quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) after a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) leave the field after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway’s crown princess issued an apology on Friday to those she has “disappointed” following days of scrutiny of her contacts with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and said she was sorry for the situation she had put the royal family in.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s communications and contacts with Epstein have put her in the spotlight in recent days, adding to the embarrassment to the royals just as her son went to trial this week for multiple offences including charges of rape.

The Epstein files contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported.

The documents, which include email exchanges, showed that Mette-Marit borrowed an Epstein-owned property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household.

The royal palace said Friday that Mette-Marit wants to talk about what happened and explain herself in more detail, but is unable to at present. It added that she is in a very difficult situation and “hopes for understanding that she needs time to gather her thoughts.”

It also issued a statement from the crown princess herself, her second in a week, in which she reiterated her deep regret for her past friendship with Epstein.

“It is important for me to apologize to all of you whom I have disappointed,” she said. “Some of the content of the messages between Epstein and me does not represent the person I want to be. I also apologize for the situation I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen.”

Mette-Marit said in a statement issued shortly after the latest Epstein files were released that she “must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was.” She added: “I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing.”

FILE - From left, Norway's Princess Ingrid Alexandra, left, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit on their way to a gala dinner at the Palace in Oslo, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB via AP, File)

FILE -Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland speaks at the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow on March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)