How A “Next Play” Culture Fuels Big Ben & The Undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers

Imagine turning on your TV for a Week Nine NFL game and seeing a score so bizarre it made you question the expiration date on the leftover sushi you consumed for lunch. I put my reading glasses to the bridge of my nose and, indeed, confirmed the graphics showed the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers were losing 13-0 to the Dallas Cowboys. This despite “America’s Team” being ravaged by injury, dysfunction, and using their fourth starting quarterback in the last five weeks. What are the odds they’d have a halftime lead on the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten squad? Better yet, what are the odds the Cowboys, playing with a quarterback who had only completed two passes in the last 3 years, would have a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter?

Well… Pittsburgh didn’t worry about the odds—or even the deficit; they just continued to play their way until their way won.

Reality set-in during the final three minutes of the game when Pittsburgh and future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger capped off a 15-point fourth-quarter by taking their first lead of the game on an 8-yard touchdown pass to the tight end. And just like that, the Cowboys went from an upset victory to an upset fan base.

To me, the stark contrast in team cultures proved to be the difference in the final score. Great Teams like the Steelers create a confident environment that focuses on the end goal both as a franchise thought process, and as an in-game mentality.

We’ve all seen teams completely fold at the first hint of failure. We’ve seen companies change their entire business model just because their second-quarter numbers dipped. But we’ve also seen teams, like Pittsburgh, consistently tackle the seemingly insurmountable tasks with a “next play” approach. If you were to cue up the coaching philosophy of legendary leader Nick Saban at Alabama Football, you’ll find him stressing to his players, “whether our last play was good or bad, all that really matters is the next play.”

Simply put, the best teams have a long term vision and a short term memory. They continue to keep their minds aligned with the overall goal instead of being paralyzed by recent mishaps. Rather than harping on the setbacks until they domino into defeat, they approach the next play as a new opportunity to find success.

In Pittsburgh’s case, a series of more manageable, bitesize tasks sparked momentum and ultimately, the victory. An interception here and a forced fumble there turned into a confident defense that limited the Cowboys to just two field goals in the second half. A good run block here and a nicely executed catch there turned into 355 yards of total offense and three touchdown passes.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski says, “The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.” How often have we seen a company limit its own growth potential because leadership is too focused on trying to lower expectations based on past mistakes?

If the Pittsburgh Steelers followed that mentality, there wouldn’t have been a point to strapping on their helmets for the second half because they’d made so many first-quarter mistakes. Keep in mind this isn’t a star-studded Pittsburgh roster where each position contains a player with unmatched talent, but it is a team that right now has undoubtedly decided to win every “next play” from scrimmage.

The truly Great teams decide to keep battling back little-by-little until their frustrations are overtaken by triumphs… and endzone celebrations.