I mean, seriously... this is going to make one hell of an America's Game episode.
Ben retirement talk
Bell holdout
Bryant reinstatement
Golson bust
Martavis struggles
Bell struggles
Ben struggles
AB's water cooler explosion
Anthem controversy
Ben 5 INTs
Winning streak
Harrison not playing
Mike Tomlin looking ahead to NE part 2
Shazier injury on prime time
JuJu hit on Burfict/suspension
4 last second victories in 5 weeks
Patriots' game hype
Harrison saying he wouldn't have signed
AB injury
Patriots end game controversy
Harrison released
Ben appears to be on non-speaking terms with his OC
Harrison signs with Patriots

I said something similar to my nephew yesterday...though you hit on a lot more points than I did.

Throw in the passing of DMR.

It's been a crazy season....and yet 12-3

And yet for a good portion of this place they see the team at 12-3 despite all of the drama and rather than praise the coach for keeping his team focused they blame him for the drama.

This has, indeed, reached epic proportions, if it wasn’t already there. Can’t stop thinking about the buildup the week of the AFCCG, assuming Steelers and Patriots take care of business in the divisional round (no guarantee). An unprecedented amount of drama surrounding this team. Closest I can think of in sports might actually be the ‘78 Yankees.

I don’t really know but I’d guess a lot teams have dirt too and we just make a big deal because we’re Steelers nerds.

The Ben thing was pretty big I admit. Still is an unknown. To me how this season has gone I see Ben absolutely playing next season. But year to year from that point.

Also apparently bens retirement talk did surprise Colbert and tomlin. So that’s some drama I’ll give you.

Who knows about bell. I could see a tag and holdout though.

This is Raiders-Steelers circa 1972-1977

Immaculate Reception game, Oakland's revenge in Oakland, Ice on the field AFCCG, Swann headshots, Noll "criminal element", lawsuit game in 1977... if Andy Russell had been cut on Christmas and signed with the Raiders, this would just about be it.

Playing a bunch of back-up caliber QBs will do that for you. We're just lucky that the Colts, Packers, Texans, and Browns didn't have a weapon like Mike Glennon. If they did, this season would have been fucked.

You nailed it with that last bit. I’ve had nightmarish flashes of some of the old guys in Raiders uniforms, Lambert especially, on look and character. Of course his career just started right in the middle of that rivalry, but it’s the idea of a heart and soul linebacker wearing the enemy uniform that’s just so nauseating. I realize when you look at skill set at this stage in the career, this is closer to Franco to the Seahawks. But the Seahawks were no rival, and that was following a training camp holdout, not Christmas, with the possibility of a meeting to go to the super bowl within weeks.

It could be epic. I can already taste it.

My mindset has dramatically changed on the 2017 Steelers and our chances vs the Patriots. I can't wait to see that game (if it happens).

I really believe we can go there and win.

In a weird way, I think that all of the drama actually helps the Steelers. Tomlin's coaching style in dealing with his players is extremely laid back and even-keeled. Never too high, never too low. It's the whole "next man up" and the "standard is the standard" thing. He let's them be themselves and expects them to put in the work necessary to win without micromanaging. He treats them like grown men rather that football playing chips. As a result, some of Tomlin's teams have often performed at their best when faced with a little adversity - Ben's suspension, league targeting team/Harrison in 2008, starting 0-4 in 2013(?), and now the drama filled 2017 season. There are other examples too that I could list. Tomlin's style helps the team mentally weather these types of storms better than a coach that would overreact and implement wide-spread changes/bench players/scream and yell like an idiot, etc. Dealing with adversity might be Tomlin's greatest strength as head coach.

Side note: I think this is also why the Steelers under Tomlin are prone to losing to inferior opponents. His even-keeled, hands-off style can lead to complacency when things are going well or when facing a bad team.